Ella Calvin's Christmases to Remember
by alyssa.t.kraft
Summary: Before Lucy was born, Charlie Calvin had another younger sister named Ella Madellaine. Come and join in on the adventure where the Calvin girl learns her father is Santa Claus and more. There will be chapters from the Calvin and Miller families' point of view. I do not own "The Santa Clause" franchise. It is owned by Disney. My OC, Ella, is who I own.
1. Chapter 1

Scott Calvin was driving home from his company's annual Christmas party. B&R Toys had a successful year because they created the "Do-It-All-For-You Dolly" and it became a big hit. He was running late and every time he does, Scott had to make an excuse. He picked up his phone and called his ex-wife, Laura. She and her new husband, Neil, were dropping off 8 year-old Charlie and 4-year-old Ella, at Scott's townhouse. Charlie is the spitting image of his father and in third grade at Lakeside Elementary School. Ella looked more of both her father and mother and she started kindergarten at the same school as her brother. Scott and Laura divorced when Charlie was 4 and Ella was 2. Laura met Neil at one of her divorce counselor meetings, then they got married after Charlie started kindergarten and Ella turned 3. Both Scott and Laura agreed to have the kids visit their dad after school and celebrate Thanksgiving with their mom and Christmas with their dad once a year and then switch. Last year, the kids spent Thanksgiving with Scott and Christmas with Laura. The kids already spent Thanksgiving with their mom and now it was Scott's turn to have them for Christmas.

"Laura, I was hoping to catch you before you left your house," Scott said as he drove along the empty freeway. "I ran real late today. You wouldn't BELIEVE the traffic out here." Even though he knew there was no one else on the freeway, Scott honked the horn so Laura would believe why he was running late. "Yeah, same to you! And that's not very ladylike!" Scott chuckled nervously and went back to the phone. "Anyway, I'll get to my house as soon as I can. Oh, there's the problem right there. Three-car pileup. I'm really gonna be late." Scott hung up the phone and kept on driving. When Laura got the message, she sighed. She was already used to her ex-husband's excuses.

"Alright, let's go," said Laura, as she and the kids saw Scott pulling up to the street in front of his house.

"Bye, kids," said Neil.

"Bye, Neil!" replied Charlie and Ella.

"Oh, sorry I'm late, everyone," Scott said. "Hi, Daddy!" Ella said as she gave her father a big hug. "Hey there, Ella Bella!" Scott said happily as he scooped up his daughter. He gave Charlie a hug. "Hi, Sport." He looked up at his ex-wife. "Hi, Laura."

"Hi, Scott," Laura said.

"Do you want to come in for a second?" Scott asked.

"Neil's waiting in the car," Laura replied.

"Well, why doesn't he come in?"

"Because Daddy, he says you'll end up saying something snotty," said Charlie.

"Not necessarily. Could be rude or sarcastic, whatever it takes," said Scott as he waved to Neil, who did the same thing.

"See?" Laura asked. "I got to go. Here." She handed Scott their kids' overnight bags.

"Come on, it's Christmas Eve," Scott continued. "Can you come in for just a minute?" Laura reluctantly agreed and followed Scott, who is still carrying Ella, and the kids into the house. Once they were in, Scott put Ella down. Ella went with Charlie to put their Christmas presents under the tree.

"So, are you going to your Mom's for dinner?" Scott asked his ex-wife.

"We just came from Grandma's house, Daddy," Ella told her father.

"We're going to be with Neil's family," Laura added.

"Ah, Christmas at the pound," Scott said sarcastically as he walked into the kitchen. He began to howl like a dog and hiss and meow like a cat, making Ella giggle. Scott stopped towards the living room to check on his kids.

"There aren't many presents under there," said Charlie.

"Well, that's because Santa is not here yet," replied Scott.

"Neil doesn't believe in Santa."

"Well, Neil's head comes to a point."

"He's smart, he's a doctor," Charlie countered.

"He's not a doctor, he's a psychiatrist," Scott continued. "Kids, take off your coats, you're sticking around, aren't you?"

"I'll be right there, just a sec!" Laura called out to Neil, who pointed at his watch. Ella quickly joined her mother to give one more wave to Neil. He smiled and waved back. After Laura and Ella went back inside, Laura told her daughter to go upstairs and draw a picture. Ella knew what that meant. Her mother was going to talk to Scott about what happened on the day she and Charlie came home from school.

"Did that jerk tell the kids there is no Santa Claus?" Scott asked.

"What? Oh, here is what happened," Laura began. "The other day, the kids came home from school early for vacation. Ella was in tears and Charlie had a bloody nose. All because some big kid told Ella there was no such thing as Santa. Charlie saw what happened and tried to stand up for her, but he ended up getting hurt. After I took care of Charlie, Neil sat them down and..."

"He told them that there was a Santa Claus?" Scott interrupted.

"Well, all he said was that Santa was more like a feeling," Laura continued. "You know, more like a state of mind than a person."

"Kind of like Neil," Scott snarled. "And who gave you permission to tell Charlie there's no Santa Claus? I think if we're gonna destroy our son's illusions, I should be a part of it. And Ella? She's only four. She's not old enough for this yet."

"Yeah, but you're never around for them, aren't you, Scott?"

"Oh, please."

"Listen," Laura argued. "All we are trying to do is give Charlie and Ella a firm grasp on reality." "That's a good idea. You don't want kids runnin' around usin' their imaginations," Scott countered. "Oh, yeah. This from the guy responsible for the Do-lt-All-For-You-Dolly," Laura said sarcastically. She began to sing, "Don't you burp me, don't you change me. I'm the dolly-" "Why do you guys always have to fight?" Charlie asked. He heard every word. "I, uh, swear we're not fighting, son," Scott insisted. "It's your mom's singing. It sounds a lot like fighting, doesn't it? Cats even. The trouble is, Neal and your mom, they don't believe in Santa because they were real naughty. Which is why they'll probably get lumps of coal in their stockings." "I don't know," Charlie replied, still frowning. "It seems kind of babyish to believe in that kind of stuff." "What are you talkin' about?" Scott said. "I believe in Santa Claus. I'm not a baby." "Well...", Laura countered. "Maybe it's time you left," Scott suggested to his ex. "We don't want to keep Dr. Pinhead waiting." He then called for his daughter. "Ella! Come say goodbye to your mom!"

"Coming, Daddy!" Ella called as she ran down the stairs. Laura held out her arms to give her son and daughter a hug. "Come here."

"Do we have to stay?" Charlie asked his mom.

"Listen, kids. You and your daddy are going to have a great Christmas, okay?" Laura told them.

"Will you pick us up tomorrow?" asked Ella.

"Of course."

"Early?" asked Charlie.

"Yes," Laura replied.

"We're talking sunup, you here?" Charlie told Laura.

Laura chuckled as she hugged her children one more time. "You'll be fine. Oh, Merry Christmas, Charlie. Merry Christmas, Ella. I love you."

"We love you, too, Mom."

Before she left, Laura gave Scott Neil's mother's phone number in case he needs to reach her. She gave Charlie and Ella one more kiss goodbye. "You kids be good, okay?"

"Bye, Mom!" Charlie and Ella waved. They watched their mother get in the car while Scott was reading a recipe for Christmas turkey. "4 hours?!" he muttered to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Charlie and Ella were seated at the dining room table waiting for their father to finish cooking the Christmas turkey. A Christmas dinner commercial was playing on the TV, but the kids were too busy watching Scott put out the flames with his fire extinguisher. Somehow, the turkey was on fire while it cooked in the oven. "That," he explained. "Is exactly why you want a high-quality fire extinguisher right in the kitchen." "Those flames were really big, Dad," Charlie added. Ella nodded, wide-eyed. "They sure were, Charlie!" "Yeah, turkey's funny that way, kids." Suddenly, the turkey began to burst into flames again. "Dad!" Charlie cried, pointing at the turkey. Ella screamed. Scott grabbed the extinguisher and put the fire out. Not once, not twice, but three times. It was then decided that the Calvin clan would be going out to dinner. Scott told the kids to get their coats on and get in the car. It wasn't a long drive to town. After about 5 minutes, Scott stopped at an Italian restaurant. "You like osso bucco, kids?"

"What's that, Daddy?" asked Ella.

"Never mind, sweetie. They're closed." Scott kept on driving.

"You know, Dad," Charlie added. "Neil is a really good cook."

"Yeah, and you should see him walk on water."

"You don't like him very much, do you, Daddy?" Ella asked her father.

"Ella, I was joking. I'm sorry. I was kiddin' around. I like him a lo...Yeah, sure, I like him. You know, there—there's just something about him that makes me want to..."

"Lash out irrationally?"

"Ella Bella, where did you hear that?" Scott asked.

"I heard it from Charlie," Ella answered, pointing at her brother. "He heard that from Neil." Scott looked at his son.

"We have been learning a lot from him," Charlie added. "He listens to us."

"Yeah, and then he charges you for it," Scott replied sarcastically. Charlie sighed. "Daddy!" Ella groaned. "You're silly."

Scott spotted Denny's and turned into the parking lot. "All right. Denny's. It's always open."

"Yes!" Ella cheered to herself as she unbuckled her seat belt and got out. Denny's is Ella's favorite restaurant. "Come on, Charlie!"

"I don't wanna eat here," said her brother frowning.

"What are you talkin' about, Sport?" said Scott. "Everybody likes Denny's! So does your sister. It's an American institution."

Scott, Charlie, and Ella entered the restaurant where they were greeted by the chatter of Japanese businessmen. The waitress, Judy, who just delivered an order to one of the men, came up to them and asked, "Are you with Hatsutashi?"

"No!" answered Scott.

"Our dad burnt the turkey," Charlie added. Judy motioned the three to follow her to their table.

"Thank you very much, ma'am," said Ella after she and her father and brother were seated. The waitress smiled at the little girl.

"Coffee for you, sir?" Judy asked Scott.

"No, thank you...Judy," Scott replied with a chuckle. "What do you say we start out with cold glasses of the delicious seasonal favorite, eggnog?"

"I don't like eggnog," quipped Charlie.

"May I have some, Daddy?" Ella asked her father, who smiled. "Please? I never tried it before."

"Sorry, guys, we're out," Judy told the trio.

"Coffee. Decaf."

"I'll have chocolate milk, please," Charlie requested.

"We're out," said Judy.

"Plain milk's fine."

"What would you like, sweetheart?" Judy asked Ella.

"May I have hot chocolate, please?"

"We're all out, dear."

"Oh," said Ella, "Then, I'll have the same as my big brother, please."

"What a cutie!" Judy whispered to Scott. "I'll be right back with your drinks."

"At least, we know they got hot apple pie!" Scott mumbled to his son and daughter.

"We did," Judy called over her shoulder.

Scott and his children stared at each other for a moment until Scott spoke up. "This is nice."

Ella nodded and said, "It sure is, Daddy."

When the trio returned home, the kids raced up the stairs to get ready for bed. Charlie grabbed his pajamas from the overnight bag and went into the bathroom to take a bath, change into his pajamas, and brush his teeth while Ella and Scott went to the bookshelf to pick out a bedtime story. Since tonight was Christmas Eve, Ella thought that Scott could read "The Night Before Christmas." Scott thought that while the two were alone, he should talk to Ella about what happened at school.

"Hey, Princess," Scott said. "What do you say we talk about what happened at school while we get the cookies and milk ready for Santa?"

"Okay, Daddy." She followed her father into the kitchen. Scott got out a plate and piled chocolate chip cookies on it while Ella poured milk into a glass without spilling a drop. "So, your mom told me that Charlie got a bloody nose at school. Want to tell me what happened?"

Ella nodded. She told her father that she was out on the playground with her friend, Sarah. The girls were talking about their Christmas plans and what they think they will get from Santa. Sarah told Ella that she asked Santa for a Raggedy Ann doll. When Sarah asked Ella what she asked Santa for, a fifth-grade kid came over to them and starting teasing the girls. He told the girls that Santa was not real, but Ella bravely told the bully that he is. "How do you know if Santa is real?" the bully asked. "Because he is!" Ella retorted. "He knows what I want for Christmas." The bully teased Ella even more and pushed her into the snow, making her cry. "And then, Charlie came over and told him to leave me and Sarah alone. He tried to get me up, but the bully kept pushing me."

"What happened then, Princess?" Scott asked his daughter. Ella told him that Charlie told the bully that he was going to report him to her teacher and the principal. The bully retaliated by punching Charlie in the nose and it started bleeding. Ella told Sarah to go get their teacher to tell her what happened while she took Charlie to the nurse.

"So, Charlie and I told our school nurse, my teacher, and our principal what happened. The principal called Mommy before school got out for our half-day."

"Do you know what happened to the bully?" Scott asked. Ella was about to answer until Charlie called to tell him that he was ready for bed. "Come on, Princess. You can tell me on the way up." So, Ella finished her story by telling Scott that she doesn't know what happened to the bully until Sarah called her at Laura's after she got home. She told Ella that the bully was going to have detention after they come back.

"I'm very proud of you for telling me and your mom what happened at school, Ella Bella," Scott told her. Ella smiled and hugged her father as they went into Charlie's room so Scott could read "The Night Before Christmas" to them.

"And Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap," Scott read. "Had just settled down for a long winter's nap. When out on the lawn, there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.." Charlie and Ella were sound asleep or so Scott thought before he finished the story so he rushed through it. After he kissed them goodnight, Charlie asked, "What's that?"

"What's what, son?" replied Scott.

"A Rose Suchak ladder?" added Ella.

"It's not a ladder. I said, "arose such a clatter." It means, eh, "came a big noise."

"What?" Charlie and Ella asked at the same time.

Scott turned on the light and began to explain. "Kids, "arose" is a word that means "it came," and "clatter" is a big noise. Now, please, go to sleep. Shut your eyes."

"How do reindeer fly?" Charlie asked. "They don't have any wings."

"Fairy dust?"

"That's silly, Daddy," Ella replied. "Only Peter Pan uses pixie dust to fly."

"Horns."

"Antlers," the kids corrected.

"Whatever. Their, uh, antlers give them-," Scott tried to explain. "You know, ther- ther- there's a slipstream effect- The air go-T-They move fa- They're weightless."

"But if Santa's so fat, how did he get down the chimneys?" Charlie asked.

"He sucks it in like Grandpa."

"But what about people who don't have fireplaces?" Ella asked next. "How does he get into their house?"

"Kids," Scott replied. "Sometimes believing in something means you-means you just believe in it. Santa uses reindeer to fly because that's how he has to get around."

"But you do believe in Santa, right, Daddy?" Ella asked.

"Of course I believe in Santa, Ella Bella. Now, please, go to sleep, you two." Scott turned off the light and was about to leave the room when Charlie called for him.

"Dad?"

"What is it, Charlie?" Scott replied.

"Maybe you better leave some cookies and milk out, just in case, okay?"

"Ella and I already took care of it. Good night, kids."


	3. Chapter 3 - Charlie's POV

My sister and I were sound asleep in our room when we heard something on our roof. Ella woke up first. "Charlie! Charlie! Did you hear that?" She sounded scared. I told her I heard it, too. We ran to our dad's room and he was still sleeping.

"Dad! Dad!" I whispered.

"Wake up, Daddy!" Ella whispered as she shook him from the other side of the bed.

Our dad snorted, "What?"

"We heard a clatter," Ella told him.

"What, Ella?" Dad asked her while he looked at his watch. We heard the noise again. This time it was even louder.

"There, Daddy! A clatter!" We whispered loudly.

"Charlie, Ella, what are you talking about?"

"You know, "it came a big noise." It's coming from outside," I whispered.

"It's just the wind or something, kids. Come on, let's go back to bed." Dad was leading us back to bed and he heard the clatter, too.

"Somebody's on the roof," Dad said.

"We told you, Daddy," Ella added, then she thought, "Maybe it's Santa."

"Not now, Ella," Dad said. He placed Ella on his bed. "I want you to sit here and stay with Charlie." Dad assigned me to watch Ella and call 911 after he finds out who is making the noise on the roof. Ella and I ran back to our room. We heard Dad call out, "Hey, you!" and then a thud.

"Who do you think it could be on our roof, Charlie?" Ella asked me. "Do you think it could be Santa?"

"There's one way to find out, El. Come on," I told her. "Get dressed. Quickly!" I put on my blue jeans over my pajama pants and pulled on my socks and boots while Ella got her pink turtleneck and purple pants over her Kermit the Frog pajamas. I helped her put on her coat and boots and then we went out to meet Dad.

I opened the door and we couldn't believe what we saw. It was Santa Claus lying in the snow.

"You got him!" we cried to Dad.

"Kids, stay where you are," he said. "Charlie, Ella, would you listen to me? Stay up there!"

"It is Santa!" Ella cried. She tried to get closer, but Dad held her back. She looked up at him. "Is he...?"

"You killed him," I accused Dad.

"Did not!" He insisted. "And he's not Santa."

"Well, he was," I countered.

"Look what I found," Ella said. She held up a card that read "Santa Claus, North Pole."

Dad flipped the card over. "If something should happen to me, put on my suit. The reindeer will know what to do."

"What does this mean, Daddy?" Ella asked. Just then, we heard bells jingling. "Look!" Ella cried, pointing. Dad and I looked up. We couldn't believe our eyes. There was Santa's reindeer up on our roof with the sleigh. "Whoa," I whispered. Ella looked down and saw that Santa disappeared. "Dad! Charlie! He disappeared!"

"Whoa!" I said, surprised.

"He's naked somewhere, kids," said Dad. Ella covered her eyes.

"Are you gonna put on the suit like the card said?" I asked. "Are you?"

"No, Charlie," Dad replied. "No."

"Come on, Dad, we want to go, too!"

"Kids, we're not going anywhere."

"But, Daddy!" Ella whined. "You never do what we want to do," I added at the same time.

"Would you two please be quiet for a minute so I can figure this out?"

"Sorry, Daddy," Ella whispered. Dad began pacing around. "Reindeer up on the roof. Santa suit laying on the ground. Guy fell. Not my fault!" He mumbled. "Reindeer on the roof. Now, that is hard to explain." Ella tugged on my jacket. "Charlie, look."

"It's the ladder," I whispered. Dad turned and bumped his head on the ladder. We ran over to him. "Where in the world did this come from?!"

I climbed up the ladder. "Look here, guys. The Rose Suchak Ladder Company."

"Huh?"

"Out by the roof, there's a Rose Suchak ladder. Just like the poem." I continued climbing up the ladder. "Charlie! Come back down!" I heard Ella say. "Charlie, get down from there!" Dad yelled.

"Guys!" I yelled back. "You gotta see this!"

"Don't touch anything," Dad warned me. "It's great! Come on up, Ella!" I called down. Ella looked unsure. She never climbed up so high like I did before. "I'm just gonna call the police," Dad said. "I'll carry this stuff up there. Let them deal with it, okay? Whoa! This guy was huge!"

One of the reindeer, Comet, nuzzled my neck with his nose. "Dad, Ella, isn't this neat?"

"Get on my shoulders, Ella Bella," Dad said and she climbed on. "Hold on tight!" Ella nodded. They began to climb up the ladder together. "Charlie. Charlie! Stay away from those things," Dad continued. They're reindeer. You don't know where they've been. They all look like they've got key lime disease." Dad put Ella down and she walked over to Comet. "Nice reindeer," she said. While Ella stroked Comet's fur, he accidentally passed gas. "Eww!" Ella cried. She held her nose.

Dad turned and looked at him. "Woof. Easy, Rudolph," he said. Comet growled. "Excuse me, Comet."

"Dad, Ella!" I said as I got in the sleigh. "Check out, Santa's sleigh!" Ella climbed in and sat next to me.

"There's no such thing as Santa's sleigh," Dad said.

"Sure there is, Daddy," Ella replied. "You said you believed in Santa, right?"

"I did? I do!"

"Then, what about the reindeer?" I asked. "These are Santa's reindeer, aren't they?"

"I hope not," Dad replied. "These are, uh, a gift. Probably from the cable company. We're getting the Disney Channel now. Merry Christmas. Now, both of you hop out of there, please."

"Oh, no, Daddy," Ella whined. "We don't want to leave."

"Listen, you two, I'm not kidding," Dad said as he got in the sleigh. "LET'S GO!" All of a sudden, the sleigh began to move. Dad fell in the back and Ella hung on to me very tight. "Yeah! Let's go! Whoa!" Ella and I cheered. "Charlie, Ella! Hold on, kids!" Dad screamed. The reindeer began flying over our house and down to the next street in our neighborhood. A deliveryman was out driving his truck when he heard us coming. "Giddyap, Comet! Whoa, let's go!" "Daddy, climb up here!" Ella said. "There we go," Dad said as he climbed into the front seat. He turned to the driver and asked, "So, uh, if we go straight on this road, do we hit I-94?" The sleigh drove past the deliveryman and into the night sky. After a few twists and turns, we landed at a nearby house and came to a complete stop.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, we made good time," Scott said after the sleigh stopped at the house. "Now what do we do?"

"Get the bag of toys," Charlie replied.

"And do what?"

"Go down the chimney," Ella added.

"Down the chimney? You want me to take the toys, down the chimney, into a strange house, in my UNDERWEAR?"

"No, Daddy," Ella laughed. "You got to put the suit on first." The reindeer nodded in agreement.

"You know what were going to do is we're gonna get out of here. Because this whole thing is stupid!" Scott whispered angrily.

"How come everything Ella and I want to do is stupid?" Charlie asked softly. "Yeah," Ella added in agreement.

"I didn't say that, kids," Scott replied. The children didn't say a word, but their faces lit up when Scott finally decided to put on the suit. "I'm freezing my nubs off out here, and you want me to get into a Santa costume. This is great. A Santa costume," Scott mumbled to himself as he took off his boots. "Oh, this thing. You never know where it's been. A thousand malls." Scott adjusted the straps of the Santa suit as he turned to Comet and said, "Well, I hope you're happy, Comet. Hope you're happy. But most of all, I hope the guy that lives here is a tailor! Nice coat." Scott put on the coat. He asked the kids how he looked.

"You forgot the sash," Charlie answered.

"You're right. This completes the ensemble." Scott got back in the sleigh and put his boots back on. "All right. Got my boots. Now I've got the suit on. How am I supposed to know what to leave?" He asked.

"Maybe there's a list," Ella replied.

"A list. How silly of me. Of course there's a list." Scott went to the back of the sleigh to pick up the bag. At that moment, he felt himself being lifted into the air. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Careful, Daddy!" exclaimed Ella.

"Aaah! I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay!" Scott replied.

"Look!" Charlie exclaimed. "You're flying!"

"It's okay. I'm used to it. I lived through the 60's. Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Ella and Charlie watched their father in amazement as he was hovered over to the chimney, then lowered and squeezed through. Scott fell through the chimney and was inside the house. He began to leave presents for the child living in the house including a pair of sneakers and a yellow truck. Apparently, the noise woke up a big, black dog. Scott looked at him and smiled nervously.

"Nice teeth," he said.

The dog began to bark and Scott tried to get out of the house through the window. Unfortunately, Scott accidentally set off the alarm when he tried to open it.

"Who's down there?" said the owner, who grabbed his gun and began shooting it off. Meanwhile, on the roof, Ella and Charlie looked at each other with frightened looks on their faces. "Charlie, what's happening?" Ella asked worriedly. "Is Daddy okay?" Before Charlie could answer, the kids turned to the chimney and saw their father being lifted out of the chimney and hovering back over to the sleigh.

"Whoa! How'd you do that? What'd it feel like, Dad?" asked Charlie.

"It felt like _America's Most Wanted_ ," Scott answered his son. "Now, pull me in, guys, quick. We gotta get outta here." Ella took hold of Scott's left foot while Charlie grabbed the other and pulled him into the sleigh. "Are you alright, Daddy?" Ella asked.

"Yes, Ella Bella, thanks," Scott answered and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "We gotta go home. How do you start this thing?" He took hold of the reins and with one quick "Hyah!", the reindeer started moving. "Just like that!"

The sleigh made another stop at the house across the street much to Scott's chagrin. "Whoa! This could be a really long night." he groaned.


	5. Chapter 5 - Ella's POV

When we made it to the next house on the sleigh, I recognized it right away. It was my friend Sarah's house. She told me that she was going to wait up for Santa this year. That was before my Daddy put on his coat.

"This could be a really long night," my Daddy groaned.

"Do it again, Daddy. Please?" I asked nicely.

"I can't. The thing's empty."

Comet turned around and grunted at my Dad. "There's nothin' in the bag," he said. "Even if there was, d-didn't you notice there's no chimney? Where there's no chimney, there's no fireplace."

Comet growled at him. "Are you growling at me?" Dad asked. Comet nodded. "Look, Comet," Dad continued as he picked up the bag. It wasn't empty all like he thought. "Like I said, there is nothing left-That's so weird, 'cause I know when I did- that-" All of a sudden, he was lifted up in the air again. "No, no, no, no, no! Hold it! There's no chimney here," Dad said to the bag. "Can you hear me? No chimney, all right?"

"Lookin' good, Dad," said Charlie.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Dad said as he hovered over to a very narrow chimney. "Come on! Look at the size of this thing." Like the last one, he lowered and squeezed through it. While Dad delivered presents, Charlie and I talked about what's happened.

"Can you believe this, Ella?" Charlie said. "We're flying on Santa's sleigh and Dad is delivering the presents. This is the best Christmas ever!"

"Oh, yes, Charlie!" I agreed. "I sure hope Sarah got her Raggedy Ann doll."

Charlie looked at me puzzled. "How do you know that, El?"

"Because this is her house. Sarah told me that she asked for a Raggedy Ann doll when we were at school. She also said that she was going to give Santa carrot and celery sticks instead of cookies."

"That makes sense," Charlie said. "That way, he wouldn't get sick. Now, Dad is Santa."

Then, we heard our Dad come up from the chimney and got back in the sleigh. We continued delivering presents at each house from our neighborhood to different cities and countries we have never been to before. Charlie and I dozed off for a while, too.

After we woke up, Daddy said "Good morning" to us and the reindeer. "We're done, Comet!" he said. "Ho, ho, ho. Back to the house! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! When I wake up, I'm getting a CAT scan!"

"Daddy!" I laughed. "You're being silly again!"

The reindeer was going to take us home. Or so we thought. We were lead to a very strange place. It snowed everywhere. I looked around and then to Daddy. "Where are we? This isn't home."

"Is this okay, Dad?" asked my big brother.

"No, it's not okay!" he replied. Then, he called out to the reindeer. "Hey, does this look like home to you guys?" All of a sudden, the reindeer ran away. Our Dad yelled, "No, no, no, no, no! Hey, hey, hey!Where you goin'? Come back here! Aww!" I never saw my Daddy that mad before.

Then, we heard footsteps. We looked around to find out where they were coming from. I squinted my eyes through the snow and I saw somebody walking towards us. It was a boy who looked a little older than me, but not much older than Charlie. I nudged my Dad and pointed at the boy.

"Hey, hey! Hey, buddy!" Dad tried to get the boy's attention, but he didn't hear him. "Let me try, Daddy," I offered. I stood up on the seat of the sleigh, cupped my hands around my mouth, and shouted with all my might. "Hey! Can you hear us? We need your help!" The boy looked up at us and gave a little smile. He began to warm his hands and lifted something off the ground. It was red and white and it had a silver ball on top.

Daddy leaned toward me and asked, "What's that?"

"I don't know," I said.

"I think it's the North Pole, Dad," said Charlie.

"That's the North Pole?" Dad asked.

"The North Pole?" I mouthed. I couldn't believe it. I looked at Charlie. "Are we really?" He nodded.

Then, the sleigh began to lower down into some room. There were more people who looked kind of like Charlie and I gathering around. I sat up to get a better look. So did Charlie. Finally, we landed on the ground. Everyone stopped and looked at us for a bit and I waved at them. They looked so happy.

"Where are all the grown-ups?" Dad asked.

"This is so cool!" said Charlie. "Yeah!" I agreed.

"You two stay in the sleigh," Dad said. Then, he went off to ask for help.


	6. Chapter 6

Scott left his children on the sleigh to find someone to ask what is going on. He walked up to one of the elves. "Hey, kid, kid. Kid, who's in charge here?"

"You are," the elf chuckled. "And I'm not a kid. I have pointy shoes that are older than you. I'm an elf."

Scott continued asking around until he came to one of the girl elves. She was carrying a plate of radishes."Uh, you guys, or you girls- Who gives the orders? Who's your boss?"

"You are!" The girl elf replied.

"No, no, no. Uh-Who's the head elf?"

"You are!"

"Hey!" An elf who looked like a teenager walked toward them. "Who's causin' all the trouble around here?"

"He is," said the girl elf. Scott said the same thing, but only about the girl elf. "She is."

"Excuse me. Are we on a coffee break?" asked the teenaged elf sarcastically.

"We don't drink coffee," answered the girl elf.

"Then I guess the break is over! Back to work. Thanks."

"Take it easy on her, will ya?" Scott asked the teenaged elf. "Who are you?"

"I'm Bernard. Nice to meet ya, Santa," he said before he walked away.

"I'm not Santa!" Scott insisted as he followed Bernard. "I've had a rough night. There's been dogs barkin', guns goin' off. Look, my back's killin' me. Have you ever tried to shove a sea kayak down a chimney? I'm tired of this small talk."

"Hmm. The other Santa disappeared, right?" Bernard asked with a smile before walking away again.

"Wait a minute," Scott replied. "Hey, I know where this is goin'. It wasn't my fault. The other guy fell. It was an accident. I've got homeowner's insurance and a good attorney. Not as good as my wife's, but let's not open up that wound." Scott then realized that the elf knew what happened to the previous Santa. "Hold it a minute. Wh-Whoa, whoa, whoa. How did you know the other guy was gone?"

"Can I get you a drink?" Bernard asked.

"No, I don't want a drink."

"We're thirsty!" Scott heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw Charlie and Ella catching up to them.

"And hungry, too," Ella added.

"Charlie, Ella, I thought I told you two to stay in the sleigh," Scott said, exasperatedly.

"Who's this?" Bernard asked, pointing at Charlie.

"This-This is my son, Charlie," Scott answered. "I'm sorry. Charlie, this is Buh, Beh, Beh-"

"Bernard."

"Bernard."

"Hi, Bernard," said Charlie.

"Hiya, Sport!" Bernard replied back as they shook hands. He shifted his eyes toward Ella. "And who are you?"

"I'm Ella," answered the little girl. "I'm Charlie's little sister."

"Hiya, Ella Bella!" Bernard said. Ella and Bernard shook hands.

"Daddy," Ella said. "He called us "Sport" and "Ella Bella" just like you."

"Wonderful," Scott quipped.

"What are you, Bernard?" asked Ella.

"I'm the Head Elf," he answered. "And this is Santa's Workshop. Your dad is the new Santa. Hey, you know what. I got somethin' for you and your brother, Ella. Okay, now hold out your hand, all right?" The children held out their hands. "Now, be very careful. They're very old, just like me." Bernard had two snowglobes in his hands - one for Ella and one for Charlie. "Shake them up, kids."

Charlie and Ella shook their new snowglobes. It was magical. Both Charlie and Ella's snowglobes have Santa flying in his sleigh. "Wow," the kids whispered in amazement.

"Why don't you, uh, hold onto them for me for a while?" Bernard asked the kids. "They might come in handy."

"Thanks. Thanks a lot," Charlie said. "I promise I'll take real good care of it."

"Thank you very, very much!" Ella said, giving Bernard a hug. "I promise to take care of mine, too."

"Make sure you do."

"We will," Charlie and Ella promised.

"Hey, Daddy, look!" Ella said as she and Charlie showed their father their snowglobes.

"Huh. Fabulous," said Scott. "Hey, Barabbas."

"Bernard!" the elf corrected.

"Bernard. Can we take a direct flight back to reality, or do we have to change planes in Denver?"

"Uh, Larry," he called to the elf wearing a green outfit. "Take Charlie and Ella here and get them some chow."

"No, Larry, don't do that. Charlie! Ella!" said Scott.

"They'll be okay," said Bernard. "Follow me. You'll want to get out of those clothes."

"I- Uh- No, look, Barnaby, I just wanna go home." Scott said as he followed him to the Main Toy Workshop.

"Look, I am not Santa Claus!" Scott said forcefully before marveling at the sight of toys. "Ahh!"

"Did you or did you not read the card?" asked Bernard.

"Yeah, I read the card," Scott said after he took off the coat.

"Then you're the new Santa. In putting on the hat and jacket you accepted the contract."

"What contract?"

"The card in the Santa suit. You said you read it, right? So when you put on the suit, you fell subject to the Santa Clause. Here." Bernard handed Scott a cookie.

"The Santa Clause?" Scott asked. "You mean the guy that fell off my roof?"

"No, no, no, not Santa Claus, the person," Bernard explained. "Santa Clause, the clause."

"What?" Scott was confused.

"Look, you're- you're a businessman, right?" asked Bernard.

"Yeah."

"Okay. A clause, as in the last line of a contract," Bernard explained. Scott still looked confused until Bernard asked if he has the card. Scott dug into his pocket and gave the card to Bernard.

"Okay, look," Bernard began to read. The Santa Clause: _"In putting on this suit and entering the sleigh, the wearer waives any and all rights to any previous identity, real or implied, and fully accepts the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus in perpetuity until such time that wearer becomes unable to do so by either accident or design."_

"What does that mean?" Scott demanded.

"It means you put on the suit, you're the big guy," Bernard replied.

"That's ridiculous. I didn't put on the suit just to-"

"Try to understand this!" Bernard shouted.

"Oo-oo-ooh!" said the elves after Bernard's outburst.

"Let me explain something to you, okay?" Bernard continued. "Toys have to be delivered. I'm not gonna do it. It's not my job. I'm just an elf. It's Santa's job, but Santa fell off a roof, your roof. You read the card, you put on the suit. That clearly falls under the Santa Clause. So now you're Santa, okay?"

"A question," Scott asked.

"What?"

"When can I get outta here?" Just then, Charlie and Ella came running towards them. "Dad, you gotta see this place." Charlie exclaimed. "It's amazing!" Ella added.

"You leave tomorrow morning," Bernard continued. "You have 11 months to get your affairs in order, and you're due back here Thanksgiving."

"I'm not comin' back here on Thanksgiving," Scott replied.

"I'll ship the list to your house," interrupted Bernard.

"What list?"

"Come on, now. The list." Scott didn't understand so Bernard began to sing. " _He's makin' a list_ ,"

" _Checkin' it twice_ ," Charlie and Ella sang.

" _Gonna find out who's naughty or nice_ ," the elves continued before going back to work.

"Look," Bernard sighed. "You put a P next to the kids who are nice and a C next to the naughty ones."

"P and C?" Scott asked.

"Yeah. "P" for present, "C" for coal, right, Bernard?" Charlie asked.

"Right!" Bernard agreed.

Scott began to ask Bernard more questions. "Wait a minute. How do I know who's good and bad?"

"You'll know," Bernard called over his shoulder when he started going downstairs. He was getting annoyed at Scott.

"What if I don't want to do this?" Scott insisted.

"Don't even kid about a thing like that!" Bernard said as he ran back up.

"Why not? What if I don't buy into this Santa Clause thing? What if I choose not to believe it?" Scott asked.

Suddenly, the whole workshop grew quiet. All of the elves stopped and looked at Scott in concern.

"Then there would be millions of disappointed children around the world," Bernard explained. "You see, children hold the spirit of Christmas within their hearts. You wouldn't want to be responsible for killing the spirit of Christmas, now, would you, Santa?"

Bernard went downstairs to the Research Department after the silence broke and the elves went back to to work. "Judy will take you to your room. Get out of the suit. It needs to be cleaned."

"And taken in," Scott added.

"Then get some sleep. We've got a lot of work to do and only a year in which to do it." Just then, a toy train rode up next to Scott. A little girl elf in a pointy purple hat and red dress sat in one of the cars.

"Judy?" Scott asked.

"Santa?" Judy replied.

"Scott Calvin."

"Follow me."

"I'll just take the next train." Scott remarked. Charlie and Ella boarded and they called out to their father. "Dad, come on!

"Charlie! Ella!" Scott exclaimed.

"Come on, Daddy!" Ella called.

"Kids, wait up!" Scott called back as he ran after the train. A few minutes later, the Calvin children marveled at Santa's bedroom. "Wow!"

"Can I get you anything?" Judy asked Scott. "The kitchen's always open."

"How about a stiff drink?" Scott suggested.

"You should get some sleep," Judy said to the Calvin children. "Here are your pajamas. I'll be right back." Judy handed Scott red silk pajamas before she went into the kitchen for the drinks. Scott took a look at the pajamas. They had the letters SC on them. After Scott got dressed and looked around his room, a group of elves watched him through the door. Judy shooed them away when she arrived with his drink.

"Santa?" she called.

"Scott Calvin" replied Scott.

Judy walked over to Scott and sat down. "I brought you some cocoa."

"No, thanks," Scott answered.

"My own recipe," Judy persuaded. "Took me 1,200 years to get it right."

"1,200 years?"

"That's right.

"You know, I must say, you look pretty good for your age," said Scott as he took the mug and took a sip of cocoa.

"Thanks, but I'm seeing someone in wrapping," Judy replied.

Scott took a few more sips of cocoa. "This is good. This is really good."

"Not too hot, extra chocolate, shaken, not stirred." Scott walked outside to the balcony. "You look distressed."

"Distressed? I'm way past distressed," Scott replied.

"Why's that?" Judy asked.

"I'm talking to an elf! And I stopped believing in Santa Claus a long time ago."

"That's not surprising. Most grown-ups can't believe in magic," Judy explained. "It just... sort of grows out of them."

"Look, you're a nice little elf."

"Thanks," Judy replied.

"But this is a dream. I mean, this is fabulous. Is that a polar bear directin' traffic down there?" Scott asked as he and Judy laugh. "I- I see it, but I don't believe it."

"You're missing the point," Judy chuckled.

"What is the point?" asked Scott.

"Seeing isn't believing: believing is seeing," Judy explained. "Kids don't have to see this place to know that it's here. They just... know. Well, you should get some rest. Good night, sir." Judy walked out of the room. Scott climbed in the bed next to his sleeping children. Ella opened her eyes for a second to give her dad a kiss on the cheek. Within a minute, Scott immediately fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning was Christmas Day. While Scott, Charlie, and Ella were sound asleep back at the Pole, they were magically transported back to their house. Ella woke up when she heard her brother whispering and gently shaking her. "Wake up, Ella," he said. "Merry Christmas!" She smiled and gave Charlie a hug. "Merry Christmas, Charlie!" she said.

Ella got out of bed and started to get dressed. She wore a red dress with black leggings, and black socks. Afterwards, she called for Charlie to help put her hair up and tie it in a black and red striped bow. They went downstairs to find a lot of Christmas presents under their tree and stockings filled. Scott was nowhere to be seen. "Is Daddy still sleeping?" Ella asked Charlie.

"I think he is," replied Charlie. He turned and called, "Dad! Dad!"

"Wake up, Sleepy!" Ella called. "Come on, get up!"

"Dad!"

"Dad!"

Scott groaned in his sleep as his children ran into his room to wake him up. "Come on, Dad! Come on!You should see all the neat toys."

"Stop shakin' me, kids."

"Come on. Get up. Get up!"

"Okay!"

"Come on, Dad," Charlie said. "It's Christmas morning."

"Great! G-Go and make some coffee."

Charlie and Ella went back downstairs. Ella went over to the Christmas tree while Charlie made coffee in the kitchen. They started exchanging their gifts to each other before unwrapping their gifts from Santa and their dad. All of a sudden, they hear Scott racing down the stairs and out the front door and then came back in. "Whoo!" Scott said as he sat down on the chair to catch his breath. Charlie and Ella exchanged a quick look as if to say "What was that all about?" before they got up and walked over to him.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" Ella asked.

"Yeah, honey," Scott answered. "Just fine."

"Are you having a heart attack?" asked Charlie. "I know CPR."

"No, Charlie." Scott stopped and looked at his pajamas again. "SC?"

"Yeah, Santa Claus. Hey. Same initials as your name, Dad. Scott Calvin." Charlie traced the initials on his dad's pajamas with his finger.

"What?"

Before Charlie answered, the doorbell rang. Ella ran over to the door and opened it. It was Laura. "Mommy!" Ella cried, hugging her mother. Charlie ran over and gave Laura a hug, too. "Oh, Charlie, Ella! Merry Christmas! Did you two have a good time?"

"Great time!" Charlie replied.

"The best!" Ella added.

"Great," Laura chuckled. "Oh, ho, Scott. Nice P.J.s. Very festive. Where'd you get them?"

"I don't know" was Scott's answer.

"Judy gave them to you," Ella said as she put her new toys into two separate piles – one to take with her and another to stay with Scott.

"Who?" Scott asked.

"You know, Daddy. Up in the North Pole."

"Ah, one of Santa's little helpers," Laura replied.

"Last night, Dad and Ella and I went with the flying reindeer," Charlie said as he gathered his toys. "It was really neat, Mom. Dad was Santa, and Larry showed us the workshop. You know, where they make all the toys?"

"Gee, thanks for keeping their feet on the ground," Laura told Scott. "Kids, you go wait in the car for a minute, okay? I'll be right there."

"Merry Christmas, Sport." Scott gave Charlie a kiss on his head before ruffling his hair. "Merry Christmas, Ella Bella." He crouched down and gave his daughter a bear hug and a kiss on her cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy," Ella replied. "Thanks for a great night at the North Pole." She followed Charlie to the car where Neil was waiting for them. He greeted them with a hug and a "Merry Christmas!" before the kids got in the car. They saw Scott walking towards them. After a brief hello to Neil, Scott asked, "About what you said in the house. Who showed you guys the workshop?"

"The elf," Charlie answered.

"How'd I get the pajamas?"

"We told you, Dad," Ella added. "Judy."

"Oh, wait. Wait. Wait. Judy was the name of the waitress at the restaurant last night."

"Some waitress gave you pajamas?" Laura asked.

"What's this all about?" Neil asked, joining in on the conversation.

"Dad took us to the North Pole," Charlie said.

"And Larry showed us the workshop," Ella added.

"The North Pole."

"Yeah. Daddy's the new Santa,"said Ella.

"The regular Santa fell off the roof, and Dad put on the suit," Charlie explained.

"Charlie, Ella, we'll discuss this at home," Neil said before he and Laura got into the car.

"The clause. The Santa Clause," Scott mumbled to himself. "It's just a dream. Stuff like that doesn't happen. It was a dream. Come on!" he said after the car drove away. Ella and Charlie waved goodbye to their dad. Then without thinking, he said, "I don't even where pajamas. Normally, I sleep naked! Buck naked! Hah!" Realizing what he said while a neighbor and her daughter walked by, Scott went back in his house.


	8. Chapter 8 - Scott's POV

After the kids spent Christmas with me, the rest of the holidays went by. The kids went back to school and Ella celebrated her fifth birthday. I thought that everything went back to normal until I came to Charlie's school with Neil and Laura for Career Day. When Charlie's teacher, Miss Daniels, called on him to come up to the front, he came up to Neil first.

"Can I ask Dad to go first?" I heard Charlie ask Neil.

"Well, if that's how you feel, Charlie," Neil replied.

"That's how he feels, Neil," I quipped. "Nice sweater, buddy." I joined Charlie at the front of the room with the Do-It-All-For-You Dolly in my hand.

"This is my dad, Scott Calvin," Charlie introduced. "He's got a really neat job."

"Thank you, Charlie," I began.

"My dad is Santa Claus." All of Charlie's classmates began to laugh. I could tell that Laura and Neil were not smiling.

"Oh, boy!" I couldn't believe what I heard. I thought he would have been over the Santa Claus thing by now, which I think is still a dream, by the way. "I think what he means is, I'm like Santa Claus," I explained. "We're both giving. We're both jolly. And we both work very hard one day a year."

"That's not what I mean, Dad," Charlie said before turning back to his classmates. "Look, on Christmas Eve, my dad pushed Santa off the roof. Santa disappeared and my dad took his place." I tried to get Charlie to stop talking about it, but to no avail. He went back over to his desk to get something out of his backpack.

"My sister and I went with him to deliver all the presents," Charlie continued as he got the snowglobe out of his backpack. "Then, the reindeer flew us to the North Pole where the head elf, Bernard, gave me this." He then added that Ella got a snowglobe from Bernard.

I tried to explain to Charlie's class once more. "Look, I work for a toy company. I deliver toys all over the country. So, in a way, I'm like Santa Claus." A little girl raised her hand and I called on her. I think her name was Veronica.

"Do you make the toys?" she asked.

"No, stupid!" said a boy named Bobby. "The elves do!"

"Bobby," said Miss Daniels. "We don't say "stupid" and we don't say "elves." They're little people."

"No, but they really are elves," Charlie countered.

"Whatever, honey."

"Which one's your favorite reindeer?" Bobby asked.

"Comet," Charlie answered.

"Uh, I, I, I don't have a favorite," I stammered as I wiped the sweat off my face.

"So, let me get this straight, Santa," Bobby continued. "You mean, when I grow up, if I wanna be Santa Claus, all I gotta do is push you off a roof?"

That afternoon, Laura, Neil, and I met with Principal Compton about what has happened. It was not a great conversation. After telling my ex-wife, Neil, and the principal what happened on Christmas Eve, the solution the principal thought of was to have me sit down with Charlie and Ella and tell them I am not Santa. There was no way I could do this for Ella's sake because she is still too young to be told this. Since this was my weekend with the kids, I thought I would take them to the aquarium. When we went to see the polar bears, Charlie once again brought up the North Pole.

"They're like the bears at the North Pole, Dad," Charlie said.

"Charlie, I already told ya," I replied. "We did not go to the North Pole. That was a dream."

"You're in denial, Daddy," Ella said.

"Denial? You don't know what that means."

"Well, you are, Daddy. We know what happened."

"How do you know that? How? You don't have any proof."

"Proof?" Charlie and Ella questioned together. They reached into their backpacks and took out their snowglobes.

"Why can't we all think of it as just a dream and forget about it?" I asked.

"But, what about these, Dad?" Charlie asked. "Remember all the neat stuff inside?"

"Kids, those are toys. We used to make things like this at work, but no one bought 'em." I handed the snowglobes back to the kids and they put them away. "I don't wanna talk about this any more."

"We know who you are, Daddy," Ella said as we walked outside and back to my car. "You'll figure it out soon enough."

"There are a lot of kids that believe in you," Charlie added. "You can't let them down."

"Kids, you're wrong."

Ella looked back and then tapped Charlie on the shoulder. They both looked back and began to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Nothing," the kids answered.


	9. Chapter 9

One day after school, two months after Charlie and Ella returned to Laura and Neil's house after their trip to the aquarium with Scott, Neil asked Charlie if he could go upstairs with Laura for a while so he could talk to Ella. Charlie did as he was told and Ella followed her stepfather into the living room.

"Is this about Daddy being Santa?" Ella asked. "I know what happened at Charlie's classroom. Charlie told me. We both know that the trip to the North Pole really truly happened."

"Ella, it's just not logical," Neil replied. "How can one man in one night visit all the children of the world?"

"Not everyone celebrates Christmas," answered his stepdaughter. "I already know about that at school." She also told Neil that Santa could have gone through some time continuum once he is in the sleigh.

"What about fireplaces?" Neil asked. "A lot of people don't have them. How does Santa visit those people?"

"He turns into Jell-O and the fireplace kind of appears. When it does, Santa turns into his old self again so he could put the presents underneath the tree."

"What about the reindeer?" Neil continued. "Have you ever seen a reindeer fly?"

"Yes. So did Charlie."

"Well, I haven't."

"Have you ever seen a million dollars?"

"No."

"Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, Neil."

Neil was going to ask Ella where she heard that from when they heard a knock at the door. Laura came down the stairs just in time to see who was at the door. It was Scott.

"Hey, Laura, Neil," he greeted. "Howdy, Ella Bella."

"Hi, Daddy," Ella replied, giving her father a hug.

"You wanna take a walk?" Scott asked. "I wanna talk to you and your brother."

"Sure. I'll go get him."

"Okay. Hustle up."

Ella ran upstairs while she called, "Charlie! Daddy's here! He's going to take us for a walk in the park."

"Scott? Can I have a minute?" Neil asked.

"Sure."

Once the adults were in the living room, Neil began the conversation. "I think Charlie and Ella are conflicted at the moment."

"Wow. Really?" Scott replied."Boy. Hmm. I appreciate your analysis. I really do. But, boy, you got more important things to worry about, you know. Like, where are you gonna get more sweaters after the circus pulls outta town?"

"Scott!" Laura countered. "I mean, you're not listening. We are very concerned about this."

"Concerned about what?" Scott griped.

"This-" Laura began before Neil finished for her. "If Charlie and Ella spending time with you is the best thing for them."

Scott was about to protest when he heard Ella and Charlie coming in the room. Ella told her father that they are ready to go. The children hugged their mother and Neil and Laura told them to be home by dinner. Once the Calvin children and their father arrived at the park, Charlie asked Scott, "Do you think by next year Ella and I will be big enough to drive the sleigh all by ourselves?"

"No!" Scott answered.

"But we've been practicing."

"No, that's not what I'm talkin' about. Charlie, Ella, hold on a second. We've got to talk about this Santa Claus thing." Charlie and Ella turned around and looked at him.

"Charlie, Ella, there- there is no-" Scott hesitated.

"No what, Daddy?" Ella asked.

"There's no reason," Scott began. "Why we have to tell anybody about the North Pole."

"Why not?" Charlie asked.

"Well, sometimes some things, big things, should remain un- unsaid, like between two people-"

"Oh, you mean like a secret, right, Daddy?" asked Ella.

Scott smiled. "Yes. Like a secret. Let's keep it a secret."

"How come?"

Scott bent down and looked at his kids in the eyes. "Because of Mom and Neil. Not just because of them. There's school. Everybody thinks- Well, it's not important what they think. It-How does five bucks sound to ya?"

"Five bucks?" Ella asked, surprised. "Is that my first allowance, Daddy?"

Scott nodded, then added, "This is something I really want you to do for me. Both of you. I want to keep this secret. Will ya do that, please?"

"Okay, Dad," the kids agreed.

"All right. Great. You don't have to worry about the Santa Claus thing any more."

What Scott didn't know was that in the next few months, there will be a few surprises waiting for him.


	10. Chapter 10 - Scott's POV

One morning in September, I woke up feeling a bit unusual. I went to the bathroom and I saw that I was bloated and had grown a beard. _Was that possible?_ I thought. _No man could grow a beard in the middle of the night._ "Something's wrong with the mirror," I chuckled. I got on the scale and saw that the numbers were increasing rapidly. "What? Something's wrong with the scale!" I screamed in disbelief. I had a meeting to go to that very day and none of my clothes could fit! The only clothes that do fit at the moment were a pair of sweatpants with a grey shirt.

After putting on my sweats, I rushed through traffic to get to my meeting. All of my colleagues stared at me. So, I told them that the dry cleaner went up in flames and caused all of my clothes to burn up.

My boss, Alan Whittle, looked at me. "God, Calvin. Your weight. What happened?"

"Bee sting," I replied. "Evidently I'm allergic. Almost killed me. But the guy at the emergency room says..the swelling will go down. I hope." I sat down at the table. Apparently, I didn't miss anything at the meeting. Everyone was just about to order lunch. I ordered a Caesar salad without any dressing, but I really had the craving for desserts, so I asked for a homemade chocolate chip cookie, a slice of cheesecake, crème brulee, a hot fudge sundae, and a glass of ice-cold milk to wash it down.

"Stung by a bee, Scott?" asked Susan, my partner for the Do-It-All-For-You-Dolly.

"A big bee," I insisted.

After lunch, we all began discussing our TV spot for our new toy we're developing, the Total Tank. That's when I started getting carried away. I complained that the elves didn't look younger and should be given silver specks on their cheeks, Santa should be riding in the sleigh with the reindeer instead of the Total Tank, and requested that we should make an easy and inexpensive toy for the children.

My boss was very concerned. "Calvin, can I see you outside a minute?"

I followed him out the door.

"I don't know what's happening to you," Mr. Whittle continued. "You're starting to look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Y-You're falling apart."

"I know! I know," I replied. "I don't know what came over me."

"W-Well, just get some help," Mr. Whittle suggested. "You know, y-you should s-see a doctor, a shrink, a dietician, anything. Just get some help."

I called up my doctor and very good friend of mine, Dr. Pete Novos, after I got home that afternoon. He told me that he is available the next morning. When I got there, Pete was already waiting for me in his office.

"How are the kids, Scott?" Pete asked. I told him that Charlie and Ella are doing well and will be heading back to school soon. Charlie had turned 9 and is going to fourth grade. Ella graduated from kindergarten in June and is going into first grade.

Pete had me run on the treadmill for about thirty minutes and then he checked my pulse. Afterwards, he told me that he couldn't find anything wrong with me, but when I told him that my diet was milk and cookies, but I don't finish all of the milk, he simply told me to cut back on the sweets.

"Anything else?" Pete asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "How fast does hair grow? Facial hair?"

"What?"

"I shave in the morning and in the afternoon I look like this," I said, pointing to my full-grown beard. Pete told me that it could just be a hormonal imbalance.

"That would explain the mood swings," I added.

"Mood swings?"

"Yeah, well, look at my hair. It's turnin' grey."

"Oh, it's middle age, buddy. It happens. And with that body, you should be thankful you have hair. Look, i-if it bothers you, you can dye it, and you should diet!" Pete joked. When he checked my heart, the strangest thing happened. I took a few deep breaths in and out and then when Pete and I could hear my heart beat to "Jingle Bells." Pete gave me a funny look, but then he had me change back into my clothes. Afterwards, he told me to contact him in case if anything happens.


	11. Chapter 11

Scott and Ella were watching Charlie play his soccer game one October afternoon. Ella didn't notice another girl about her age walking towards her father while she was cheering her brother on. Laura and Neil were on their way to watch the game so Scott told his daughter to keep an eye out for them. Just then, he felt a tap on the shoulder. Scott turned around and saw the girl standing on the bench and staring at him.

"What?" he asked the girl.

The girl sat down in his lap and said, "I want some ballet slippers."

Just then, Laura and Neil pulled into the parking lot. Laura got out and saw her ex-husband with a bunch of kids lined up while Ella sat next to him. One little boy was sitting in Scott's lap. Ella waved to her mother and Neil when she saw them.

"Oh, my God," Laura gasped. She and Neil couldn't believe what they were seeing. Ella whispered in her father's ear that her mother and Neil were coming towards them. Scott took the boy off his lap and walked over to Laura and Neil. Ella ran over to her mother and hugged her hello.

"Hi. Hey, this looks pretty odd, doesn't it?" Scott asked. "These kids lined up all by themselves."

"Scott, I think it's safe to say you're taking this Santa thing to an unhealthy level." Neil reached into his pocket for his wallet and took out a card. Laura covered her mouth. "Here's my card. Call me."

"Scott, I- I really have to tell you that this is beginning to scare me," Laura began. "I never in my wildest- Well, no, okay, maybe my wildest-But certainly never in my normal dreams would l-But then this is Scott we're talking about..."

"Laura, the point," Neil interjected. "It's just I never thought you would stoop to changing your physical appearance in order to make Charlie and Ella like you," Laura continued. "Do you have any concept of how dangerous this is to a little boy and a little girl?"

"Whoa. Whoa, whoa. "How dangerous"?" Scott questioned.

"Mom, what's the matter?" Charlie asked when he ran over to his mother. Laura took hold of her children's hands.

"Come on, Charlie, Ella, we're going home."

"But, Mommy, Charlie's game just started. Can't we stay, please?" Ella protested.

Scott tried to help. "Well, you let them stay. I'll go," he told Laura.

"If you don't get your act together, Scott, so help me-" Before she finished, Laura went back to her car while Neil turned around and mouthed "Call me" before joining his wife and stepchildren. Scott sighed and went back to his car and drove home.

That evening, while Scott was shaving, he heard the doorbell rang. He opened the door. It was a deliveryman.

"Hi, there," said the deliveryman. "I got a delivery for S.C. You S.C.?"

"Scott Calvin, that's me."

The deliveryman asked him to sign for a few packages. It was odd because Scott didn't order anything, but he shrugged it off and told the deliveryman he'll leave the door open. About an hour later, Scott went downstairs and found thousands of packages all around the hallway and the dining room. He approached to one of the piles of packages and found an envelope on one of them. He opened it and read the note. It said, "Here's the list. Check it twice! Yours, B." Scott opened one of the packages and found a list of names on it. "Armand Assante?" He read under his breath. "Yo!" he called out to the deliverymen. "Hold it! Hold- Oh! Hold it! What am I supposed to do with all these packages, guys? Come on."

The mail trucks drove away before Scott could reach them. He grunted in frustration and walked back to his house.


	12. Chapter 12 - Laura and Neil's POV

_**Laura's POV**_

When the kids, Neil and I got home from Charlie's soccer game, everything was quiet. Charlie kept looking at Ella during dinner. I told him to stop staring at her and asked what was wrong. He told me nothing was wrong and finished eating. Then, he went upstairs and locked himself in his room for the night. Ella looked worried and asked Neil what was wrong with Charlie. He told her that he was probably upset that we had to leave early. I couldn't help that we had to leave. Neil told her that he will talk to Charlie about this after she goes to bed. I made a cup of coffee in the kitchen and sat down as I waited for Neil to talk to him about Scott.

"You know, I knew it. I knew that- that something was going on," I told Neil as he sat next to me at the dining room table. "What I can't believe is that he would go behind our backs all this time, confusing Charlie and Ella again. What are we- What are we supposed to do?"

"Well, there's one obvious alternative," Neil told me.

"What's that?"

Before Neil gave me his suggestion, we heard the kids shouting at each other.

"It's all your fault, Ella!" Charlie shouted. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone."

"How was it my fault, Charlie? I didn't tell anyone!" Ella shouted back. "I kept my promise. You're the one who told!"

"How could I have told those kids about Dad?" Charlie argued. "I was out there playing! You were the one sitting next to him on the bench!"

"Don't yell at me! The other kids walked up to him first while I was waiting for Mommy and Neil to come!"

"I'm not yelling!"

"Yes, you are! And you're being mean, too!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Are too!"

"Charles Scott and Ella Madellaine! What is going on in here?" I asked in a stern voice.

"Charlie keeps blaming me for what happened before we left his game!" answered Ella, pointing at Charlie.

I sighed. "Charlie, why are you blaming your sister for leaving your soccer game early? You know that we left because of what is going on with your Dad."

"Mom, we know why Dad is like that," Charlie said. "He is-"

"Please, Charlie. No more of this tonight," I interrupted. "Now, both of you apologize and go to bed."

"I'm sorry I said you were mean, Charlie," Ella said. She gave her brother a hug.

"I'm sorry I blamed you, Ella." Charlie accepted her apology and hug. "And you were right, I was upset that we left early."

He whispered something into her ear, but all I heard was something about a promise. I brushed that off and took Ella to her room. Later that night, Neil and I both thought over that Scott should have his visitation rights taken away and started the paperwork the next morning after the kids left for school.

 _ **Neil's POV**_

Laura and I received approval for the preliminary hearing in November and it was taking place on the week before Thanksgiving. We notified Charlie and Ella's principal that they will be off from school on the 17th. We notified Scott after we received the approval and he was not happy about it. But, Laura and I both thought it was for the sake of the children. On the day of the hearing, Laura woke the kids up early and got them ready. When Judge Whelan's secretary notified him of our arrival, we sat in the waiting room until he came out of his office to receive the paperwork.

"Charlie, Ella, do you mind if I talk to you both for a minute?" Judge Whelan asked them.

"It's okay. Come on." Laura took Ella off her lap and the children walked in his office.

"We won't be long." Judge Whelan assured us.

"Are we doing the right thing, Neil?" Laura asked me.

"Something needs to shake Scott," I replied.

"Yeah, but-But to- to take away his visitation rights."

"Honey, the man is delusional," I told her.

"Okay, okay, so maybe I'm having second thoughts, kind of," Laura admitted. "I just-I mean, what was so bad about Charlie and Ella believing in Santa?"

"Well, he's a little old. Ella's still young. Oh, come on, Laura. Don't you remember when you stopped believing in Santa Claus?"

"I was Charlie's age, I guess, l-I wrote Santa a letter every week that year. Well, you know, okay, you know, maybe-Maybe not every week, but-Boy, I really wanted a "Mystery Date" game. Do you remember those?"

I shook my head.

"No. Of course you don't. You know, no one does," Laura continued. "I- I don't even think they make them any more, but-Well, anyway-Christmas morning came and-Oh, I got dozens of presents. Oh, I got everything. Except "Mystery Date."

I thought that I would tell Laura when I stopped believing in Santa Claus. "I was three, and it was an Oscar Meyer wienie whistle. Christmas came. No wienie whistle. And that's when I stopped believing.

"You were three?" my wife asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh, Neil." Laura held my hand for a minute and then we heard Scott running over to us. I still couldn't believe how he looks now. _Does he still think he's Santa?_

"Where are Charlie and Ella?" Scott asked us. "I want to talk to them."

"They are with the judge," Laura answered. Just then, the door opened and Ella and Charlie ran over to Scott.

"Dad!"

"It's all okay," Ella said quietly. "Charlie and I told the judge everything about you and the North Pole."

Laura and I gave our testimonies to the judge while Scott waited in the waiting room with the children after he gave his. After 10 minutes, Judge Whelan called them in to join us.

"After reviewing all of your testimonies, I've come to a very difficult decision. I'm sorry to do this in light of the holiday season, but in the best interest of the children, I'm granting the petition of Dr. and Mrs. Miller. Mr. Calvin, as of today, all of your visitation rights are suspended pending a hearing after the first of the year."

"What?!" Charlie and Ella cried together.

"No!" Ella ran over to Scott and hugged him tight. "Does this mean Charlie and I won't see you ever again?" she asked her father.

"I'm afraid so, sweetie," Scott answered, blinking back tears. "I'm so sorry. You two better go with your mom and Neil. Goodbye, Charlie. Goodbye, Ella."

"Bye, Daddy," Ella whispered as she kissed her father and gently pulled on his whiskers.

"Bye, Dad," Charlie hugged his father while he ruffled his hair.

Scott walked out of the courthouse and into his car after he said goodbye. Then, we left. It was a quiet ride home.


	13. Chapter 13

Ella made a beeline for her room after she got home from the courthouse with Charlie, Laura, and Neil. She slammed the door, changed into her PJs, grabbed her Pooh Bear doll, buried herself under the covers, and cried. _I'm never going to see my Daddy again._ She thought. _It's not fair! All because Mommy and Neil don't believe that he's Santa._ Ella continued crying until she fell asleep. She could also hear Charlie crying in his room. A few hours later, Laura walked to Ella's room to check on her. She carried a tray that had a plate of her favorite homemade meal and dessert: grilled cheese, tomato soup with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese, and two scoops of double fudge chocolate ice cream.

Laura set the tray on her daughter's desk and walked over to her bed. She sat down and rubbed Ella's back.

"Ella?"

She didn't answer her mother.

"Honey, come on out from under there. We know you're upset that you won't see your father, sweetheart," Laura continued. "I'm sorry. It's just only going to be for a little while." The little girl still didn't answer. "Your supper and dessert is on the desk when you are ready to eat. We can talk when you come out as well." Laura got up and opened the door. Neil was waiting for her outside.

"Any luck?" Neil asked when Laura came out of the room. She put a finger to her mouth and shook her head. Laura asked her husband if he tried talking to Charlie. Neil shook his head. Charlie wouldn't answer him either. Neil told Laura that all they could do is to let the children have time to cool down. The two walked down the stairs to the living room.

Meanwhile, Ella got out of bed after she heard her stomach growling. She walked slowly to her desk and sat down to eat her dinner. She took a few bites of her sandwich, then dipped it in her soup. She finished her sandwiches in about 10 minutes. While taking a few spoonfuls of her ice cream, Ella thought of something that she wished that she could do for her father. Even though he wouldn't like it, Ella decided that she could run away to her father's house. She grabbed her backpack from the back of her desk chair and put it on her bed, then walked over to her closet to grab some clothes and two toys. Ella was so busy trying to pack her bag, she didn't hear a knock on her door.

"Ella?"

"Go away!" she answered.

"El, it's only me." It was Charlie. "May I come in?"

Ella walked over to her door and opened it to let her brother in. Charlie's mouth dropped open when he saw what his sister was up to.

"Ella, what are you doing?" he asked. "You're not trying to run away, are you?"

"Yes, I am and you can't stop me, Charlie!" Ella whispered as she folded her clothes and put them in her backpack. "I'm going to Daddy's house."

"But, Ella, if you run away to Dad's house, then he'll be in trouble."

"I don't care, Charlie!" Ella retorted while trying to fight back tears. "I miss him and I want to see him right now."

"You will."

"How do you know?" Ella asked.

"Because Thanksgiving is coming," Charlie answered as he put his hands on his sister's shoulders. "Remember what Bernard said? Dad will be going back to the North Pole to fulfill his duties as Santa after that." Ella realized that she forgot what the Head Elf told her father when they were at the workshop. Her face started to light up, but frowned again.

"But Thanksgiving is a few days away. How can we still convince Dad that he's Santa?"

Charlie looked at Ella's snowglobe sitting on her dresser. "I have an idea. What if we call Dad on Thanksgiving while Mom and Neil are not looking, wish him a Happy Thanksgiving and tell him that we wish we could celebrate with him. Then, we can bring our snowglobes down to the table before we eat."

"Come on, Charlie. What's the point in that?" Ella interrupted.

"Let me finish. If Dad comes to see us, then we can still convince him that he's Santa."

"Do you think this will work?" Ella asked.

Her brother nodded. "I know it will work. Trust me, Ella."

"I trust you, Charlie," the little girl said. She gave her brother a big hug.

On Thanksgiving morning, the Calvin children placed a call to their father, who sounded happy to hear from them. The children told their father that they wish that he could come see them. Scott sadly said that he also wished that he could see them, too, but he knows that he can't. The children said goodbye and hung up the phone. Thinking that their plan didn't work, Charlie and Ella both exchanged worried looks saying, _What do we do now?_

That night, Scott decided that he was going to take a walk to look at the Christmas lights. A few blocks later, he stopped at Laura and Neil's house and looked in the window to see his children having dinner. He thought about what his children said over the phone and walked over to the house and rang the door bell. Neil and Ella answered the door.

"Hey, Neil, Ella Bella," Scott greeted. He picked Ella up and gave her a quick kiss before putting her down.

"Scott. You're not supposed to be here." Neil warned him.

"Don't make me beat you up, Neil," Scott threatened as he put his hands over his daughter's ears.

"Oh, would Santa really beat someone up?"

"I'm this close."

"So, you still believe you're Santa?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Charlie questioned. "Of course you are, Dad. How can you say that? Think of all those kids."

"The only kids I'm thinkin' about are you and Ella, Sport," Scott replied.

"Daddy, we're fine," Ella countered. "You can't let them down. They all believe in you!"

"Ella, listen," said Neil.

"You listen!" Ella countered. "You think you know who he is, Neil? You don't!"

"Ella. Honey, listen," Laura tried to help her husband. "You and Charlie are confused."

Ella looked at her mother. "We know exactly who he is, Mommy."

"Ella, he's not Santa!" Neil said sternly.

"He is too, Santa!" Ella argued. "We went to the North Pole together. Charlie and I saw it. The elves are real old even though they look like us. Bernard called me "Ella Bella" and Charlie "Sport" 'cause he knew everything." Ella turned to her father. "Right, Daddy? Remember!" She tossed her snowglobe into Scott's hands after Charlie gave it to her.

Scott looked in the snowglobe and saw it turn into the North Pole. Realizing his true fate, Scott smiled at his children, who ran over to give him a hug.

"Thank you, kids," Scott said. "Thank you."

"We love you, Dad," his children replied. Scott looked up at Neil and Laura. "Could you guys leave us alone for a minute? I mean, so I can say goodbye to them properly?"

"You saw! You saw my ball come to life," Ella spoke up after her mother and stepfather walked to another room.

"You bet I did," Scott replied. "Well, kids, I guess I better go."

"I'll get my stuff." Ella began to go up the stairs.

"Wait for me, Ella!" Charlie went after her.

"Well, wait, kids. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Scott stopped them. "I think it's a much better idea if you just stayed here with your mom."

"We wanna be with you, Daddy."

"Boy, I love hearing you say that," Scott chuckled.

"You mean Charlie and I can go?" asked Ella.

"Boy, this bird is dry," the Calvin clan heard a familiar voice. "Haven't you people heard about basting?"

"Bernard!" the children cried happily.

"Hiya, Sport. Ella Bella," Bernard greeted as he ruffled Charlie's hair.

"Bernard, can we go? Please, can we go, Bernard?" Ella and Charlie begged.

"It's okay with me," the Head Elf agreed. At that moment, Scott, Charlie, Ella, and Bernard magically disappeared to the North Pole.


	14. Chapter 14 - Ella and Charlie's POV

Charlie, Daddy, Bernard, and I arrived back at the North Pole safe and sound Thanksgiving night. Bernard introduced us to a few of the elves from each department: Quintin (Research and Development); Sophia (Arts and Music); Julie (Painting); Millie and Cassidy (the co-heads of the Naughty and Nice Center); Flora, Remmy, Valerie, Nicholas, and Ceril (Reindeer Stables); and Alex (Toy Testing). I already remember Judy and she works in the kitchen. After Bernard gave the tour of the workshop, Daddy went off to his office to check the Naughty and Nice lists.

Charlie told Bernard that he would like to work with Quintin because he has some ideas that will help Dad stay safe while making deliveries on Christmas Eve. Bernard asked what will I be doing since he will be with Quintin.

"I'll take her, Bernard," Judy stepped in. "I'm sure my department will let her help us make cookies for Santa."

I took Judy's hand and we went off to the kitchen. It was full of delicious smells and a lot of elves keeping busy with their baking. Judy introduced me to Abby, Cocoa, and the rest of the staff.

"Have you ever baked cookies, Ella?" asked Abby.

"Yes, I have," I answered. "I make cookies with my mom at home for Christmas. What other treats do you make besides cookies? I would love to learn how to make other sweets like muffins and gingerbread."

"We also make muffins and gingerbread," said Judy. "But we are planning to make some new treats that we think Santa will like."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Dark chocolate peppermint truffles, holiday rice krispie treats, peanut butter and chocolate popcorn balls, snowman cakes, gingerbread cookie dough bites, chocolate peppermint bark..." Cocoa listed.

"Ooh, those sound really good! Will you teach me how to make them?"

"Certainly!" replied Judy. "Let's get started!"

The girls took me to the sink so I could wash my hands and put on my apron and hat. My cooking outfit was pink and red and my apron had candy canes on it. Then, I began my first lesson. We began baking cookies first since I was familiar with it. Then, Abby taught me how to make holiday rice krispie treats and the popcorn balls. I asked Judy if I could make a tray with each treat. When she asked who it was for, I told her it was for Dad and Charlie. She smiled and told me that she was going to take a mug of cocoa for Dad so a plate with cookies, krispies, and popcorn balls would make a great treat with her delicious cocoa.

After the tray was made, Judy and I brought the treats and cocoa over to my Dad's office. He was so surprised that I started learning how to bake and he loved the treats and he knows that Charlie would love them, too. A few minutes later, Bernard came in and told Santa to come down to Research and Development to check on the new sleigh and other inventions Charlie and Quintin made.

"Charlie's got some great ideas on how to keep you safe," Bernard told my Dad.

"Hello, Santa," Quintin greeted as he looked up from the sleigh he and Charlie were finishing. "Charlie and I have put our heads together and I think we have a few surprises for you."

"This is some of the best stuff that's come out of the workshop since...the ball!"

"Fabulous," said Dad. "What happens if I fall off the roof?"

We walked through the department so Charlie and Quintin could show Santa what they have made. The first was a red jumpsuit. Quintin and Bernard told us to stand back. Then, one of the Research and Development elves pushed a button and flames began to ignite.

"Fireplaces will no longer be a problem," Bernard stated. Two elves put out the flames with their fire extinguishers and when they were done, the jumpsuit still looked like new.

"It's a new fabric," Quintin explained. "Completely flame retardant. It's light, yet durable."

"And you can wear the jumpsuit under your coat and pants," Judy added.

"But what do I do if I fall off a roof?" Dad asked.

"Don't worry, Daddy," I reassured him. "There's another surprise coming."

On Christmas Eve, my Dad was getting ready for take-off. His beard is longer now and he just put on the jumpsuit, coat, and hat. The reindeer were harnessed and ready to go. When Dad took a look at the sleigh, he saw something on his seat. I walked over to Comet and whispered in his ear that he saw our gift. Since Dad was worried that he might fall off a roof, we pitched in and got a rope that he can use. There was a card with it that read, _From Comet and Ella to Santa._

"Ella, did you and Comet make this card?" Santa asked me.

"We sure did, Daddy," I said. Comet grunted in agreement.

"It's a nice rope. This in case I fall off a roof?"

"Guys, this means a lot to me." Santa reached out and scratched Comet behind his ear, then placing the rope under his arm, he picked me up and gave me a kiss. I giggled when my Dad's beard tickled me on the cheek.

"All right, let's go!" Dad declared as he carried me to the sleigh. He picked up the reins and said, "Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen..."

"On Comet, on Cupid..." I added.

"On Donner and Blitzen!" Charlie finished.

We waved goodbye to Bernard, Judy, Quintin, and the rest of the elves and wished them Merry Christmas and we were on our way.

Charlie showed me the gadgets that he and Quintin made for the sleigh while Daddy delivered a few gifts. I thought that they were really cool. The Cookie and Cocoa Dispenser is my favorite. After our Dad went up the chimney and we were riding in the sleigh for a while, Charlie got up from his seat to show him.

"Charlie, stay in your seat!"

"I got to show you this, Dad," Charlie said. "Radar-jamming jingle bells, snow screen, DC-10 alert, and air freshener."

"Wow!"

"And most important of all," Charlie added. "Your hat."

"My hat?" Dad asked.

"It's lined with a two-way radio," Charlie explained. "The microphone's in here. It connects you directly to Judy."

"Wait a minute," Dad looked over, pointing to the Cookie and Cocoa Dispenser. "What's this?"

"That's a C.D.," I told him.

"Compact Disc."

"No, Daddy," I giggled. "Cookie and cocoa dispenser. The cocoa comes out nice and hot." I pressed a button and hot cocoa began to pour into two mugs and then a cookie popped out. "And out pops the cookie."

"How could I have done this without you, kids?" Dad asked us.

"You couldn't." Charlie answered. "Look, there's Mom and Neil's street! Could we go there next?"

"Sure," Daddy replied.

"Ella and I made something for them at the workshop."

We arrived at the house and watched our Dad go down the chimney. I pointed out to Charlie that there are police cars around the neighborhood. "Charlie, why are there police cars around our house?"

"It's just so they can keep an eye out for burglars robbing houses," he answered. "Mom and Neil are home so there's nothing to worry about." Charlie realized that he spoke too soon when we saw two police officers carrying Daddy to their car.

"Daddy, no!" I whimpered. I walked out of the sleigh and tried to shout at the officers, "Let my daddy go! He didn't do anything wrong! Let him go! Let Santa go!" It was no use. No one heard me. I saw Mommy and Neil come out of the house, but they didn't see us on the roof. All that Charlie and I could do was watch our Dad get in the police car. When it drove away, I heard Neil say, "Honey, I'm sure the kids are fine."

I walked back to the sleigh, placed my head in Charlie's lap, and began to cry.

 _ **Charlie's POV**_

I couldn't believe that Dad was arrested by the police. I think Mom and Neil had something to do with this. Ella was so upset when she saw the cops taking Dad away, she started crying. "Don't worry, El," I reassured her. "We'll find a way to save Dad...somehow." I tried to calm her down by singing a few Christmas songs to her, talking about the sleigh ride and the gifts we made for Mom and Neil, and gave her a mug of hot chocolate. The hot chocolate did warm her up, but tears were still rolling down her face. A while later, we heard a whooshing sound. We looked up and saw the E.L.F.S. team flying towards us. Ella held on to me tight.

"Charlie? Ella?" asked the E.L.F.S. leader.

"Yeah?" We answered.

"Don't worry, we're the good guys." The leader promised. "C'mon, let's go save Santa!" He flew over and helped us up. He gave Ella one of his handkerchiefs so she could dry her eyes.

"We can't," Ella said after she dabbed her eyes. "The police are watching this place."

"Yeah, they probably are. But you see, we weren't figuring on walking out the front door. We find that we can get around a lot faster if we fly. Now, grab hold of my hands. Now, hang on tight. And kids?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever try this without elf supervision."

We flew over Mom and Neil's house and over the policeman's car. Ella and I could tell that he was really surprised to see us flying. A while later, we arrived at the police station.

"We're looking for Santa Claus," I told the officer at the front desk.

"Go home, kids," said the officer. "Visiting hours are over."

"We're not kids," said another E.L.F.S. agent. "And we're not visiting."

"We're here to bust out our dad," Ella told the officer.

The officer pointed at Ella and me. "You're the Calvin children! But, who are these other kids?"

"We're your worst nightmare," said the E.L.F.S leader. The officer looked confused for a moment until he felt four hands push him down in his chair. "Elves with attitude!"

Ella and I went behind the desk and watched the officer spin around in his chair. The team wrapped him up in several layers of Christmas ribbon.

"I shouldn't have had that doughnut!" The officer muttered. He stopped spinning and when he saw that he was tied up, I stuffed the last bit of the doughnut he ate into his mouth.

"Charlie! Ella!" Dad yelled when he saw us.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Ella and I asked.

"I am now!" Dad sighed in relief. The E.L.F.S. team used tinsel to remove the hinges from Dad's cell and out we went.


	15. Chapter 15

Neil and Laura were in the kitchen wondering if Charlie and Ella are safe when they heard the door open.

"Mom?" Charlie called.

"Mommy! Neil!" Ella called after him. "We're home!"

"Charlie! Ella!" Neil exclaimed in relief at the sight of his stepchildren and he gave each of them a hug. Laura exclaimed, "Oh my God, Charlie! Ella! Sweethearts, come here. Come here." Both of the kids hugged their mother while she placed Ella on her hip. "Oh, my sweethearts. You're home," Laura mumbled happily. "Oh, I've missed you both so much! How are you? We were so worried."

"I missed you, too, Mommy," Ella said.

"Mom, we're fine! It's okay," Charlie reassured his mother.

"I don't have a lot of time," Scott claimed after he looked out the window and found police cars approaching the house.

"Did you leave the gifts Charlie and I made under the tree?" The five year old asked her father.

"You bet I did," promised Santa.

"We better go!" Charlie said as he started to walk out of the living room. He motioned for his sister to come with him. "Come on, Ella!" The girl took her brother's hand.

"No!" Laura said immediately. "No, no, no. Wait, kids!"

"No, no, no, it's okay, Laura," Scott promised her, giving himself a chance to take care of things for a change. "Actually, kids. I think it's a much better idea that you two stay here with your Mom and Neil."

"Really?" Laura asked, surprised.

"But, Daddy..." Ella began to argue.

"No buts, Ella Madellaine," Scott said. Ella was surprised. She never heard her father use her middle name before. "I can't be selfish. I can't be with you and your brother all the time. We're a family. You two, me, your mom..." He looked over at Neil, who was leaning on the wall. "And Neil. And they need to be with you, too."

"We'll miss you too much!" Ella wailed. She hugged her father tight and began to sob. So did Charlie. Scott hugged both his children and motioned them over to the couch. He sat down and looked into their eyes.

"Listen to me. There's a lot of kids out there, okay? Millions of kids," Scott explained. "They...they all believe in me. They're counting on me and I'm not going to let them down. I got a lot of work to do."

"So Ella and I can't be selfish either," Charlie snuffled.

"You both gave me a wonderful gift, Charlie. Listen, a wonderful gift," Santa explained to his son. "You and Ella believed in me when nobody else did. You two helped _make_ me Santa. Selfish? Come on. You two are the least selfish people I know."

"We love you, Santa Claus," Charlie and Ella said tearfully.

"I love you, kids," replied Scott . He looked over at Laura after he wiped the children's tears. "Laura, what do you think? Christmas Eve, I'll spend it with Charlie and Ella?"

"Oh my God," remarked Laura. Her eyes welled up with tears and her voice was shaky. "It's you. It really is you. You really are...Santa Claus."

"Pretty cool, huh?" Scott asked. "And your parents thought I'd never amount to anything."

"Oh, wait," Laura said. "Don't go yet. I have something for you." She turned around to head upstairs. "It's Santa!" she told Neil in an excited and whispered voice.

Neil couldn't believe what was happening. He walked over to Scott and stared at him. Neil's face lit up when he realized who Scott really is.

"Santa?" he asked Scott.

"It's okay, Neil," replied Scott.

Neil turned away and put his hands over his face just as Laura rushed back downstairs with a file in her hand.

"Here," Laura said as she held up the file. "It's um...well, it's...it's my Christmas present for you. It's the...um...It's the custody papers." She threw them in the fire. "And I want you to come and see Charlie and Ella as often as you can."

"You can count on it," Scott told her. "Thanks, Laura. Merry Christmas."

Just then, Bernard came in the room. "What's all this boo-hooing goin' on here?" Neil backed up in surprise at the sight of the elf. "Hey, how you doin'?"

"It's nothing, Bernard," Scott replied. "I'm just saying goodbye to Charlie and Ella."

"What goodbye? Kids, you still have your snowglobes, right?"

"Yeah," Charlie and Ella answered.

"Well, all you gotta do...is shake it whenever you want to see your Dad."

"Really?" Charlie and Ella looked at each other with wide eyes. Ella gasped quietly in surprise.

"He come back to see you two...anytime day or night. Hey, have I ever steered ya wrong?"

Charlie and Ella shook their heads.

Neil still couldn't believe what was happening. Bernard was marveling at Neil's sweater and tried to look for the tag to check if one of the elves made it. "Laura," Neil gasped happily. "He's sucking us into his delusions! Look at the elaborate measures he's taken." When Neil was not looking, Bernard disappeared just like magic.

"Neil, relax," Laura said to her husband. "I'll explain it to you later."

Neil turned back to notice Bernard was gone. "Where'd he go?" He began to search for him until Ella said that Bernard went back to the North Pole.

A while later, police cars and a crowd of parents and their children showed up to the Miller house. They were anxious to find out what's happening. When Laura tried to convince the police chief that everything was fine, the SWAT team entered the house.

"That's my ex-husband and he's already up the chimney!" Laura called after them.

"Leave Santa alone!" Ella cried.

"Chief, look up there," said one of the officers. Everyone marveled at the sight of Santa and his sleigh flying in the air. "Oh, wow!", "Look!", "Santa Claus!", "Up there, do you see him?" is what all of the children and parents were saying.

"Goodbye, Charlie. Goodbye, Ella," Scott called from the sleigh. His son and daughter waved to him. "Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!"

Neil bent down next to the kids and apologized for not believing them.

"That's okay, Neil," Ella said.

"You were just denying your inner child," Charlie added, making Laura laugh.

"You're going to make a great psychiatrist one day, Charlie," Neil told his stepson.

"No. I think I'm going to go into the family business." Charlie turned to his sister. "What about you, Ella?" She nodded and then looked at the sky. She tugged Charlie's sleeve and pointed to see the sleigh coming back towards them.

"Look out below!" Scott had returned for a moment to give his children, Laura, and Neil their Christmas presents. Charlie got a new soccer ball, Ella got a Snoopy plush animal, and Laura and Neil got the presents they wanted when they were children: a "Mystery Date" game and an Oscar Meyer Weenie Whistle.

After the sleigh flew away, Laura and Neil talked to the police and everyone went home. Ella told her mother that she wanted something to eat. It was very late so Laura fixed two plates (one for Ella, one for Charlie) of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with carrot sticks, almonds, and a mug of hot chocolate. After dinner, Charlie went upstairs while Ella stayed with Laura and Neil marveling at their presents. Laura told Ella that she will teach her how to play "Mystery Date" after she turns six and Neil told Ella why he wanted the Weenie Whistle when he was three years old. He told her that he wanted the whistle ever since he watched the Oscar Meyer commercials. Neil even let her blow the whistle for a bit before Charlie dashed downstairs with his snowglobe.

"I'll go see what Charlie's doing," Ella said when she got down from her chair and grabbed her coat.

"Tell him to come inside, honey," Laura called.

"I will, Mommy," Ella responded. She found her brother standing outside. "Charlie? Mommy said you have to come inside. What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see if Dad will come back," Charlie answered. "Bernard said..."

"I know, Charlie. If we want to see Dad, all we have to do is shake our snowglobes. Is it working?"

"No, not yet. Want to try?"

Ella nodded. Charlie handed her the snowglobe and she tried shaking it.

"Ella, Charlie, come inside!" Laura called.

"Mom, Charlie's snowglobe is not working!" Ella complained. She shook it one more time. It didn't work. "Oh, sugar," she mumbled. Charlie placed his arm around her and started walking back to the house when they heard someone call out, "Hey, Sport! Ella Bella!"

Ella gasped and she and Charlie turned around. It was Scott.

"Daddy!"

"Dad!"

"You guys miss me already? I've been gone, what? Twenty-five minutes?" Santa joked. "Give me a break. I was on my way to Cleveland. Come here and give me a hug." The children ran and hugged their father. "Do you want to go for a quick ride?"

"Please, Mommy, can we go?" Ella begged.

"Go on, get out of here!" Laura approved.

"All right, kids," said Santa after he hoisted his daughter on his shoulders and his son in his arm. "Hold on." The bag began to rise and they were lifted into the air. "On our way!"

"Bye, Mom!" Charlie called.

Laura waved to her children and watched them go in the sleigh. "Just...just a quick one," she called. "And, uh, not over any oceans, Scott."

"We'll be careful, Mommy! Merry Christmas!" Ella added.

"Let's be off. Lots to do in one night," Santa said as he chuckled with a warm-hearted "Ho-ho-ho!"


	16. Chapter 16 - 1996

After Scott adjusted to his new job as Santa that Christmas, many changes occurred at the North Pole and in Lakeside in the next six years. This is what happened during the months of 1996:

 **February** : Ella celebrated her sixth birthday on February 14th and she had a small party with her family and everyone at school sang "Happy Birthday" to her while celebrating Valentine's Day. Sarah gave Ella two small teddy bears, one for her birthday and one for Valentine's Day, before the first bell rang at school. Laura taught her how to play "Mystery Date" like she promised after Ella got home from school. The birthday girl enjoyed every minute of the game and Scott arrived right before dinner. Ella also received special gifts at her party such as the _Mary Poppins_ and _The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh_ video tapes from Charlie, a locket from Laura and Neil, and a collection of books including _Arthur's Eyes, Amelia Bedelia_ , _Little Bear,_ _Little House the Big Woods_ , _Little House on the Prairie_ , _Mary Poppins_ , _Mary Poppins Comes Back,_ and _Winnie the Pooh_ from Scott. He also brought gifts from Bernard and Judy. Bernard gave her a bouquet of irises and roses while Judy gave her a Christmas sweets recipe book with all of the recipes written by her and the kitchen elves to say thanks for her help.

 **April** : Scott was invited to celebrate Easter with his children and Laura and Neil. While everyone was getting ready for dinner, Scott told everyone that the North Pole is going through a major expansion due to the rise of computer games and new toys in the market. He also showed them a copy of the construction plans Quintin and Bernard gave him. The plans revealed what the new workshop will look like, new stables for the reindeer, an extended kitchen/bakery for Judy and her team, etc. Finally, it was time to eat. Neil said the prayer and then he and Laura announced that they are going to have a baby. Ella jumped up and down and hugged her mother and stepfather and gave Charlie a high five. When asked if they think the baby will be a brother or sister, Ella and Charlie's answer was either one was fine with them as long as the baby is happy and healthy.

 **May** : Charlie turned ten years old on the 9th. Like Ella, he received special gifts from his family and friends. From Ella, he got a Buzz Lightyear plush and Laura, Neil, and Scott chipped in and gave Charlie an NES along with a few games that both he, Ella, and the rest of the family could play including _Super Mario_ , _Darkwing Duck_ , _Mickey Mousecapade_ , _Home Alone_ , _Snoopy's Silly Sports Spectacular_ , _Donkey Kong_ , and _Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers_.

 **September** : It was time for Charlie and Ella to go back to school. They had a great summer before their new sibling is born. Scott invited them to come up to the North Pole to spend time with him for a few weeks and while getting ready for the new baby, the Millers moved to a new house, which was about 15 minutes away from Lakeside Elementary School and a 5 minute walk over to Sarah's house so Ella could go over and visit her friend anytime. Charlie was going into the 5th grade while Ella is going to 2nd grade. In the middle of the month, Laura and Neil had a baby shower and homecoming party. Scott, with a little help from Bernard, transported a new baby mobile over to the Miller house since they were finishing up the nursery, which had peach and white painted walls, white crib, white changing table with a dresser, and stuffed animals that Charlie and Ella had when they were babies.

 **October** : It was 3 days before Halloween and the Calvin children were all ready. They picked out their costumes at a nearby costume store in town. Ella chose to dress up as Esmeralda. Charlie chose Buzz Lightyear as his costume. That morning, Laura and Neil decided to have a baby naming contest held after the kids got home from school. Ella thought the baby would be named Lucy if it's a girl and Cameron if it's a boy; Neil thought of Julie and Daniel; Laura thought of the names Bridget and Richard; and Charlie thought of Jessica and Michael. When the children contacted Scott via the snowglobe to give his opinion, he suggested Katie and Christopher. Halloween night came and went. The children went to a carnival at their school and talked to Scott before they went trick-or-treating. He told them that he and the elves are also celebrating Halloween while working on their expansion to the workshop, which should be done in 2000.

 **December** : At 8:30AM one morning in mid-December on the beginning of Christmas vacation, Ella woke up hearing her mother crying out in pain and Neil talking on the phone saying that the contractions were about 10-15 minutes apart. It meant one thing: the baby is coming! Ella washed herself, got dressed, and ran to Charlie's room. She tried shaking her brother awake. "Charlie, Charlie, wake up! Mommy's going to the hospital to have the baby."

"Okay, okay, stop shaking me!" Charlie rolled over and opened his eyes slowly. "What did you say, El?" he yawned.

"I said the baby is coming!" Ella answered. "Now, come on, Sleepyhead!"

Charlie jumped out of bed and got dressed while Ella grabbed her mother's bag from the bedroom door. Sarah's mother, Rebecca Walker, who was 6 months along with her second child, was called to watch over Charlie and Ella. She brought Sarah with her so the kids could have a little bit of fun while waiting to hear the news. Throughout the day, Sarah, Charlie, and Ella played outside in the snow, wrapped their Christmas presents, baked cookies, read stories, watched Christmas movies, and played video games from Charlie's NES. Neil would call every other hour to check on the kids and give them an update on how Laura is doing.

Charlie and Ella's half-sister, Lucy Abigail Miller, was born on December 20, 1996 at 12:20AM. While meeting her at the hospital that afternoon, Ella said that Lucy was the best early Christmas present any girl would ever wanted. Even Charlie was surprised that the baby was born five days before Christmas. After Scott delivered the presents on Christmas Eve, he stopped by the Miller house to meet the new member of the family and give her very first Christmas present.

While Scott held her for the first time, Ella asked, "Daddy, when should we tell Lucy about you being Santa?"

Scott looked at her and smiled. "Well, sweetie, when the time comes, we'll tell her," he answered.


	17. Chapter 17 - 1997

This is what happened during the months of 1997:

 **January-February:** Ella thought having her new baby sister at home was a lot of fun and enjoyed taking care of Lucy just like any big sister would. Every day before and after school, she would give Lucy her bottle, play with her, hold her, bathe her, and sing lullabies. From time to time, she would help Laura and Neil change Lucy's diapers. Charlie also helped out with the baby while participating in a new boys basketball team.

Ella, Laura, Neil, and Lucy would come watch his basketball games after school. Charlie enjoyed playing for a while until he hurt his left finger after one of the boys from the school's rival team pushed him down. Ella notified her father about the incident after the family got home from the hospital. Charlie had to wear a splint for six weeks and he decided to quit the team. The boy who pushed Charlie down was suspended from the team. After Charlie's visit at the hospital, Ella celebrated her 7th birthday with a small party with her family. Scott came by to wish his daughter a Happy Birthday and to check on Charlie.

 **April-August:** Lucy, at 4 months, celebrated her first Easter with her parents and older brother and sister. She even got her first picture taken with the Easter Bunny and she was not afraid. The Easter Bunny is Santa's friend and fellow member of the Council of the Legendary Figures so he would report to Santa to let him know how his kids and niece are doing.

Back at the North Pole, Scott contacted his children letting them know how the expansion is coming along. They have finished building a new Research and Development department for Quintin and his team, a library, a movie theater, and a daycare and school for young elves.

Charlie graduated from Lakeside Elementary School on June 22nd after celebrating his 11th birthday in May. Lucy also began learning how to crawl while playing outside with her older sister on the evening of her brother's graduation ceremony. Ella and Charlie were playing peek-a-boo and trying to make Lucy laugh while Laura and Neil were getting a barbecue ready for Charlie's graduation party when

 **September-November** **:** Charlie started 6th grade at the new Lakeside Middle School, which was right across the street from the elementary school. Ella began 3rd grade and she has Ms. Daniels, who was Charlie's teacher when he was about her age. Charlie would also visit his former teacher from time to time and help his sister with her homework right after dinner. Lucy celebrated her first Halloween by dressing up as a pumpkin while her older siblings dressed up as Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. Lucy's first Thanksgiving also went off without a hitch and she also began saying her first words "Mama" and "Dadda" while they prepared dinner.

 **December** : After the fall holidays came and went, Lucy began taking her first steps. On December 15th, five days before Lucy's first birthday, Laura and Neil picked the kids up from school. When they were home, Charlie went upstairs to his room to wrap up his Christmas presents, Laura was getting dinner ready, Ella sat in the living room with Neil, and Lucy was on her blanket playing with her toys.

"Okay, Ella, the next word is 'mistletoe'," Neil said as he looked through Ella's spelling words. Lakeside Elementary was having an all-school spelling bee a few days before the kids began their Christmas vacation. Ella had been studying her spelling words for a few days after the principal selected her, Sarah, and a pair of twin boys named Jimmy and Robbie to represent the third grade.

"Mistletoe," said Ella. "M...I...S...S...E...L...T...O...E. Mistletoe."

"Close. Mistletoe is spelled M...I...S...T...L...E...T...O...E."

Ella did a small groan. "I'm never going to get these words right. And the spelling bee is in 3 days. It's making me nervous."

"Don't worry, honey," Neil reassured his stepdaughter. He gave her a pat on the back. "You'll do fine. I'll tell you what. Let's make a list of the spelling words you got right and another for the words you are struggling with." Ella nodded,thinking that it was a great idea. She got another piece of paper from her folder, folded it it half, and drew a line in the middle. On one side, she wrote "Correct" and "Practice"on the other. Neil looked at the next word on the list. "Address."

"Address. A...D...D...R...E...S...S. Address."

"That's correct." Ella wrote "address" on the correct side.

Neil heard Laura calling for him to come into the kitchen to help her look for a spice she needed for the chicken she was cooking. He got up and told Ella to watch Lucy for a few minutes. Ella nodded and then went back to her spelling list. After spelling the word "sister", she looked over at Lucy and smiled. The baby was bouncing up and down while holding her rattle. She saw her big sister watching. Then, with a playful squeal, she threw her rattle and Ella caught it. Lucy got on her knees, stood up, and with little steps, she walked over to her sister.

Ella gasped in surprise. _She's walking. Lucy's walking towards me._ Ella thought as she held out her arms. "Come on, Luce. You can do it." The baby cooed when she landed in her sister's arms.

"Mom! Neil!" Ella called. "Come quickly!"

Laura and Neil ran over to see what was the matter. "What's wrong?" they asked.

"Nothing's wrong! Lucy's walking! She took her first steps. Watch!" Ella put Lucy on the floor, got up from the couch and sat on the floor next to the bouncy seat. "Come on, Lucy. Come to Ella." After a few coaxes, Lucy walked over to her big sister once more. She screamed in delight when Ella cheered and clapped her hands.

"She's...she's..." Neil was so excited to see his daughter walk, that he told Laura to get Charlie and the camera. After an hour of helping his mom and stepfather videotape Lucy walking, Charlie called Scott on his snowglobe to tell him the great news.

On December 18th, Ella participated in the third grade spelling bee and won 1st place.

Lucy celebrated her first birthday and second Christmas with her family. Scott also came back to the Miller house for another Christmas visit after delivering the presents. Ella got a Samantha Parkington doll from Santa and new clothes and books from Laura and Neil, Charlie got more games for his NES from his father and new clothes and comics from his mom and stepfather, and Lucy also got new clothes and toys from her parents and Simba and Nala stuffed animals from Santa.

 _ **Author's Note:**_ Hello, readers! I'm so glad that you are enjoying my story. If anyone asked how I began writing it, I actually got my inspiration from **BlueRaider1993** 's "You're the Arch-Elf, Michael Calvin" and **PrincessTriSarahTops** ' "Christmas With the Calvins." I enjoyed reading their stories about Charlie having an older sibling so instead of writing about him having an older brother/sister, I thought that I would give it a shot with Charlie having a younger sister. So without further ado, I would like to thank **BlueRaider1993** and **PrincessTriSarahTops** and I hope to read more chapters from your stories.

 **Kaia** , thank you very much and keep on the lookout for more chapters. **Guest** , the Denny's scene is also one of my favorite scenes from The Santa Clause so I had to include this. **Ladybug** , I am already writing chapters for SC2 and I will be writing chapters for SC3 later on.

Please feel free to message me for some ideas on how you think the events in SC2 should go and keep reading "You're the Arch-Elf, Michael Calvin" and "Christmas With the Calvins."


	18. Chapter 18 - Flashforward

From 1998 to 2001, Ella and Charlie have grown up in the past years. Scott has invited them to come with him to deliver the presents as they did the first Christmas a few years after Lucy was born. The little girl has been told by Laura and Neil that her older brother and sister have gone up to Canada to see their dad since she was still young to know that Scott is Santa Claus. Both of the Calvin children graduated in June 2000 with Ella graduating from Lakeside Elementary and Charlie from Lakeside Middle School. Ella began 6th grade at Lakeside Middle while Charlie started his freshman year at Sycamore Secondary School that September. Lucy started going to Lakeside Elementary School in September 2001 after she turned 4. That meant three new school orientations over the two summers and then Laura started to get emotional about her two oldest kids growing up too fast. Nearly every night before the first day of school, Ella would reassure her mother that even though she is growing up, she will always be her oldest little girl.

Scott was also reminiscing about his children growing up as the North Pole finished their workshop expansion by Christmas Day 2000. After the opening of the new workshop and naming ceremony of the town, he promoted Curtis from Research and Development to Number Two elf much to Bernard's chagrin. Every single day, he would follow Bernard around with the Keeper of Christmas Handbook and read off what he had learned from it, which would get Bernard into one of his moods because he remembered being the Number Two elf and the Keeper of Christmas Handbook before Scott became Santa. Curtis also had plenty of ideas to increase work production. For almost two years, he constructed the Pantagraph in the room across from the new Naughty and Nice Center and made a lot of finishing touches and improvements. Due to the workshop's busy schedule, Scott contacts his children once or twice a year so he'd know how his children are doing. Now, that Lucy is growing up, he hasn't seen her for a long time either.

But, that's all about to change once the year 2002 hit.


	19. Chapter 19

Charlie started his junior year at Sycamore while Ella began her last year at Lakeside Middle School in September 2002. Since then, Ella was noticing that Charlie has been acting strangely. He always goes out with friends and is home late, some of his grades have been marked down, and he has been moody towards her and Laura and Neil. One night after Thanksgiving, Ella was doing her homework when she suddenly felt thirsty. She went downstairs to get a glass of water. Laura and Neil were going out for the night so they told Charlie that he could invite a friend over to the house for a few hours. Charlie invited his friend, Danielle, to the house. Ella got along with Danielle after she met her for the first time last year. The teens were talking in the kitchen when Ella entered. Charlie stopped talking and he hid his climbing gear in his backpack.

"Hey, guys, what are you doing?" Ella asked.

"Nothing, El," answered Charlie. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I live here," she joked. "I was just getting a glass of water and going upstairs to bed."

"Oh."

"What are you doing with your climbing gear? You guys going camping or something? Do Mom and Neil know about this?"

Charlie chuckled nervously and told his sister that they were just going out. When Ella asked again what the climbing gear was for, her brother insisted that he and Danielle were just going out. Ella held her hands up in surrender and apologized for her joking around. She got her glass of water and went back upstairs thinking. She had never seen Charlie act so strange before. So, she tried her best to contact Scott with her snowglobe, but he didn't answer.

When Neil and Laura got home, Ella told them what happened earlier. They told her that he was having a teenage phase and would go away eventually. Neil added that he was also having trouble in school. When Ella went upstairs to go to bed, the telephone rang and Laura answered. Neil also saw a figure coming towards the door. It was Charlie. It was not going to be a good night.

Meanwhile at the North Pole, Scott was about to receive the news that would change his job as Santa forever.

 _ **Author's Note:**_ Now, we are up to the events in The Santa Clause 2! Yay! I also want to apologize because some of you are probably wondering why I rushed through. I thought it would be alright that if I did a flashforward because it would take too much time to wonder what the Calvin siblings have done after Lucy was born. I wrote a quick flashforward to Charlie, Ella, and Lucy already growing up in the last few years before Scott learned about the Mrs. Clause.


	20. Chapter 20 - Scott's POV

I couldn't believe the news I received today after I played Tinsel Football and helped a few of the elves with the toys they were finishing for Christmas. I found out from Abby that Charlie is on the Naughty List this year. Bernard told me that Ella, who did not make the Naughty List, tried contacting me about his behavior. And then on top of that, I have learned about the Mrs. Clause. I have to get married by Christmas Eve or else I stop being Santa Claus. When I asked what if I don't want to get married, I started losing weight and my beard was getting shorter. I kept asking myself, _What will happen to the kids all over the world? Will they stop believing in me? What will happen to the elves? What will happen to Bernard and Curtis? What will happen to my kids?_ Everyone at the Council of Legendary Figures meeting noticed how I looked after I told them about Charlie and the Mrs. Clause.

"You can't stop being Santa Claus!" exclaimed the Easter Bunny.

"I don't want to stop being Santa Claus!" I agreed.

"Kids have been 86 percent happier since you've taken the job!"

"You're right. This is all I want to do. But what _**can**_ I do?"

"Well, you can't be in two places at once," said Father Time. That gave Curtis an idea. After the meeting, I went with Bernard and Curtis to the Pantagraph room. Curtis excused the elves so he could show me how he's been doing on this project.

"I've tripled the RAM and reconfigured the circuitry," Curtis explained.

"I see," I understood. "You've externalized the power source to make better use of|the electromagnetic energy."

"No, it's just there because it looks really cool."

"Yeah, it does. Wait a minute. You tripled the RAM." I realized why Curtis wanted to show me the Pantagraph. "I see where this is going. Curtis, I am not getting in that machine."

"Besides, creating a copy of|Santa won't solve our problems," Bernard added. "The elves'll know!"

"But this would be a special toy!" countered Curtis. "I added a fuzzy logic circuit. The duplicate will look and think just like you. When you're with your family, dealing with Charlie, and looking for a wife..."

"The toy Santa will be up here melting in front of my fireplace," I quipped.

"No, the toy Santa will be|dealing with business up here."

"I can deal with business up here!" Bernard interrupted. "Santa, if the elves find out|we've made a switch... Aaggh! No! No! This machine is not the answer."

"I promise you, sir, it won't hurt a bit," Curtis convinced me.

"I'm goin' in," I declared. When I got on the machine, Bernard turned away and Curtis pulled the duplicate switch. I felt a shock going through my body and it really hurt. Then, I started to get out of the machine.

"It's perfect!" cried Curtis as he saw me.

"That's because it's me, Einstein."

Bernard ran up to me and asked if I was alright. I told him and Curtis that I got a shock when they started screaming. The Toy Santa was not wearing anything when came out of the Pantagraph. I told Bernard to throw something over him.

"Can he talk?" I asked Curtis. He urged me to say something to him. "Hello?" I could only hear him grunt a little so I tried again. "Hello?"

"Hello?" Toy Santa repeated.

Then I tried chuckling a warm "Ho, ho, ho!"

"Ho, ho... ho!" Toy Santa repeated again.

"Not bad," I told him.

"Not bad yourself," replied Toy Santa.

"I can't put my finger on it, but there's something|about you that I like."

"There's something about you that I like!"

"Huh." I turned to Curtis and told him to keep an eye on Toy Santa while I talked to Bernard. "Bernard, I need your help with this."

"What do you mean?" Bernard asked, worriedly.

"What I mean is I gotta go see Charlie and I want you to convince the elves that...Toy Santa is me."

"Have you seen that thing?" Bernard asked again.

"Yes. I've seen it," I answered. "Just keep the elves at a distance and say that I've changed my look, it'll work."

"Santa, we're in way over our heads here."

"If anybody can do this, it's you, Number One," I convinced Bernard.

"I'm not gonna lie to all the elves!" Bernard tried to argue, but he changed his mind while I got ready to head back to Lakeside. As I head to the reindeer stables, I could hear Bernard talk to the elves about "my new look." He told them, "I myself think he looks absolutely terrific! Better and fresher somehow than he has in years. There's now a more supple veneer to his skin and an added luster to the thickness of his hair. You could almost say there's a...a toy-like quality to him.  
Most importantly, he's very happy with his new look, and I would caution you all not to point or stare or use the word "plastic". Okay? Okay. Thank you. That's all. Back to work, please."

I sighed in relief. It worked. I made it to the reindeer stables where Comet was waiting for me with one of the stable girls. He started grumbling why I couldn't take Prancer with me.

"Comet, because I don't want to take Prancer.," I answered. "I want to take a trip with you. When's the last time we had a cruise? I love you, buddy." I pat Comet on the back. "Besides, last night, Prancer had too many apples. So, we know what that means."

Bernard came by to see me off and he handed me my watch. I couldn't go anywhere without it. While I marveled at my watch, Bernard told me that the watch measures how much magic I have left and the level drops every time I use it. If the level reaches zero, then I won't return to the Pole.

"Uh-oh," Comet grumbled.

"Then let's not let it get to zero!" I told my head-elf.

Bernard then told me that the most important thing was for me to come back. Another one of the stable girls handed me my gloves while Comet kept grumbling.

"Comet, please just chill out a little bit, okay?" I asked. "Come on! It's not like we're pullin' the sleigh. Right? There's no packages. It's one stop. And I think I might have forgot to mention, we're gonna go see Charlie and Ella."

My hair and beard has turned gray again when I arrived in Lakeside. I put Comet in Laura and Neil's backyard and headed over to Charlie's school. Laura and Neil were already there when I arrived.

"Scott!" Laura greeted, then hugged me. "Hey! You trimmed your beard."

"Come here, big guy," Neil said as he gave me a hug. Then, he looked at my stomach. "Whoa! Lost some weight there, huh? Slim-Fast?"

"You don't know how fast," I quipped.

"We should get going," Laura said while we walked down the hallway. "How do you always know when there's a problem?"

"I see you when you're sleepin'. I know when you're awake," I answered.

"Which is a pretty frightening concept when you think about it," Neil replied.

"We're really worried about Charlie," Laura told me. "He keeps upping the ante. This time he defaced school property."

"It's classic acting out," Neil added.

"I'm blaming myself for this," I said.

"Oh, come on, Scott," Laura reassured. "We're both his parents."

"Where is Charlie?" I asked.

"He's waiting for us in Principal Newman's office," Laura answered.

"There's something about her that makes me want to deface public property."

"Hello, Mr. Calvin," Principal Newman said as she approached us. "Laura, Neil."

"Miss Newman," Laura and Neil greeted.

"Principal Newman," I said while saluting her like a soldier.

"You know, I haven't seen you since the last time Charlie was in trouble," Principal Newman said to me.

"I've been traveling for work." I replied.

"Oh, then, if you spent more time with your son, there'd be fewer problems."

"Then I wouldn't spend so much time with you, which is always such a pleasure."

"A battle of wits. It's a shame you come unarmed. Excuse me." Principal Newman walked over to a student rollerskating in the middle of the hallway. He stopped and got off the board.

"Good morning, Principal Newman," the student said.

"Mr. Picardo, I want you to look into my eyes," she replied. "What do you see?"

"It's dark. And it's cold," answered Picardo. I'm sure that he was put on the Naughty List this year.

"It's your future, Mr. Picardo. You keep this up and you will spend your life stabbing trash. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I'm going straight to 3rd period geometry."

"Have a nice trip."

Laura, Neil, and I followed Principal Newman into her office. I whispered quickly to Laura how Ella is doing. She told me that Ella is doing well and is working hard at getting good grades in her classes. She didn't get the chance to tell her I was coming yet so she thought it would be a surprise.

"It's an affront to authority and blatant disrespect for property. If this continues I'll have no other recourse than to suspend."

"Excuse me," I interrupted. "Is there a rest stop between|here and the end of the lecture? I'm more interested in why this happened in the first place."

"So am I," said Principal Newman. She looked at Charlie. "Charlie, we're all worried about you. It feels like you're trying to get someone's attention. What's bothering you?" Charlie shrugged his shoulders. Principal Newman looked over at Neil. "Dr. Miller?"

"Neil," he corrected.

"Neil, do you have any theories?"

"Well, frankly I have several."

"Here we go. Let's just order a pizza," I said sarcastically.

"Scott, you're not helping," Laura told me.

"I was listening to a tape series on child development just last night," Neil continued.

"You know what the problem is? Excuse me, Neil," I said. "It's four weeks until Christmas. That's a holiday in December. Have you noticed the hallways? Not a decoration, not a twinkle light, not an expression of the joy|kids are supposed to be feeling. What kind of school is this?"

"A public school," Principal Newman answered. "A top-rated public school. That takes effort and money. Spending any of that money on holiday decorations would take away from the things that truly matter."

"Forgive me, but I think holiday cheer really matters."

"What are we going to do about you, Charlie. We are worried..."

"Let me handle this," I told Laura. I turned to Charlie. "Charlie, you know what you did is wrong. Right?"

"I guess so," Charlie answered.

"There's no guessing," I continued. "Guessing is gone. It was wrong what you did. And you're not gonna do it again. Promise me."

"Okay," Charlie promised.

"There you go," I told his principal. "He won't do it again. Meeting is adjourned."

"It most certainly is not!" Principal Newman countered. "Charlie..."

"You know what else?" I asked while I handed her some money. "Here's a little donation. Why don't you buy yourself a wreath?"

The four of us left the school, stopped at McDonald's to pick up dinner, and then headed home.


	21. Chapter 21

Back at the North Pole, it has been at least a few hours since Toy Santa adjusted to his duties while the real Santa was down in Lakeside taking care of things with his family. Bernard and Curtis were watching his every move. At the moment, Toy Santa was keeping himself busy making faces in the mirror and saying, "I am Santa Claus. Boo!"

"Yeah. No, no, I think that this is gonna work," Bernard said to Curtis as he watched Toy Santa. "Good... Good job, Curtis."

"Would it kill you to give a wholehearted compliment?" asked Curtis. Toy Santa was still being silly in the mirror while practicing his "Ho-ho-ho's."

"Santa? I need you to look at this." Curtis held up the Keeper of Christmas Handbook for Toy Santa to see.

"All right!" Toy Santa glanced at the book for a moment. "Nice!"

"No, no," Curtis corrected. "I mean, I need you to read it."

"Well, let's try to be specific, shall we?" Toy Santa replied. "I'll take a look at it over at my desk."

"How does he know where it is?" Bernard asked, surprised.

"I programmed him that way," answered Curtis. "He has most of Santa's memories." The Number One and Two elves walked over to Santa's desk and Curtis explained to the toy that they need him to study everything in the book because it is "the key to being Santa."

"Right!" Toy Santa understood. "I'll memorize everything in the book. I'll follow all the rules. Rules are very important!"

"I like this guy," whispered Curtis.

Just then, Abby came in the room carrying a tray with a kettle full of hot chocolate and a mug. "Hi, Santa," she greeted cheerfully.

"Uh...Hi," Toy Santa replied.

"Oh. You look..."

"Like he got a good night's sleep," Bernard finished for her. There was an awkward silence for a moment until Abby said the right words.

"Like you got a _very_ good night's sleep. How about a nice chocolatey cocoa?"

Toy Santa didn't know how to answer, so Curtis helped him by nodding his head up and down and smile while Abby poured the hot chocolate into the mug. Curtis instructed Toy Santa to close his mouth and then the toy took the mug.

"Be careful, it's hot," said Abby.

"Of course it is," Toy Santa replied. Once again, Curtis helped him with opening his mouth so he could take a drink. To Abby's astonishment, he drank it all with five gulps. "Aagh!"

Toy Santa slammed the mug on the tray. "Whoo! That's delicious! I like cocoa! Cocoa is a superior refreshment! Get me some more cocoa! Whoo!"

"Right away, Santa!" replied Abby. She dashed out of the room to the kitchen to make "Santa" another mug of hot chocolate.

"Ho, whoa!" exclaimed the toy. "I think Santa feels a little buzz! Whoooo!"


	22. Chapter 22 - Ella's POV

I just picked Lucy up when Mom called me on my cell phone after school. She told me that she, Charlie, and Neil are bringing McDonald's for dinner on their way home. They had finished their conference with Principal Newman at Sycamore. She asked me what I would like and I told her that I wanted a Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal. Then, Mom asked me to put Lucy on so she will know what she would like from Mickey D's. Lucy told Mom that she would like a Cheeseburger Happy Meal. After Lucy gave me my phone back, Mom told me that they will be home in five minutes and the door will be unlocked.

"Thanks for letting us know," I said on the phone. "We'll see you soon. Love you! Bye!" I hung up the phone.

"Mom's not cooking dinner tonight!" Lucy said, jumping up and down in the snow.

"I think Mom is having one of those nights when she doesn't feel like cooking," I told my sister. "You know, with everything going on with Charlie."

Lucy nodded her head to show that she understood and then she said, "Maybe she has a surprise for us, too."

I nodded. Then, we started walking home.

"How was school, Luce?" I asked.

"Great!" Lucy answered. She told me that her teacher, Ms. Bailey, told the class that they are going to learn about all of the Winter Holidays and then have a holiday party on the last day of school for Christmas vacation. Her class was also assigned to bring one to three winter holiday books for the class on Monday. "We have a lot of Christmas books, don't we?" she asked.

"We sure do," I answered. "I'll tell you what. After dinner, we'll head upstairs and we'll go through the Christmas books in the book shelves in our room so we can find which three you can take to school." Lucy and I have shared a room at our house since she was two.

"Okay," replied Lucy. "We'll tell Mom and Dad what we are doing when we get home. "

"Sounds good! Anything else going on at school?"

"Just the usual math, reading, and writing. My class had health class and music class today. For health, we learned about germs and why it is important to wash our hands. Then in music, we started singing Christmas carols."

"Great! You got your homework done?"

"Got most of it done during class today. Just need help with math."

"Okay. And do you know what we are doing tomorrow?"

"NO SCHOOL!" we shouted and laughed. We approached our house and walked inside.

"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" Lucy called to Mom and Neil.

"We're home!" I called after her.

"Lucy! Ella!" We gasped in surprise.

"Uncle Scott!"

"Dad!"

"How are my girls?" asked my Dad as he hugged us.

"We're great! I didn't know you were coming," I answered. "I missed you so much!" I backed up and looked at him from head to toe. "You look really different." I was right. He lost his white beard and a little bit of weight. His hair was back to grey, too. I was lost in my thoughts when I heard Lucy's voice.

"Uncle Scott, I learned how to swim underwater and I'm not afraid!"

"That's amazing!" Dad exclaimed. "Wait a minute, maybe we'll have to go to the mall and get some ice cream."

"Can Ellie come, too?" asked Lucy. Ellie has been my nickname since she started talking. I pleaded with her because I wanted to tell my Dad what has been going on at my school, too.

"Dad, plenty of women at the mall," remarked Charlie.

"Charlie, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Ella, I think you and your Dad have a lot of catching up to do," Neil said. "Why don't we have dinner and then your Dad can have a talk with you before you guys can get ice cream?"

"Okay," I shrugged my shoulders. I still had no idea what was going on until Dad took me upstairs right after dinner. We went into my bedroom and I closed the door and sat on my bed while Dad sat on my desk chair. He told me that he looked different because he was being de-Santified.

"What do you mean, de-Santified?" I asked.

"At the Pole, Curtis told me that there was another Clause involved and it was hidden in the card we read when I first became Santa eight years ago," Dad explained. "This is the Mrs. Clause and it says that I have to get married..."

"You're going to get married?" I jumped out of my bed. "Dad, that's incredible! To who? When is the big day?"

"Let me finish," Dad sighed. "I get married on Christmas Eve and I don't know who I'm marrying."

"That doesn't make sense, Dad. How can you not know who you are marrying?"

"Because I'm looking for a wife and I have 26 days left to do so. I need your help right now, sweetheart."

"Why, Daddy?"

"Because if I don't find a wife by Christmas Eve..." Dad hesitated, then he found the right words. "...then I won't be Santa anymore."

My mouth dropped open. I couldn't believe what I heard. "What?!"

My Dad nodded. "It's true."

"Then what will happen to Bernard and Curtis, the North Pole, and to all the children who believe in you?" I felt tears forming in my eyes and one rolled down my cheek. Dad wiped it off with his thumb.

"If I don't get married, I won't deliver the gifts and all of the children will stop believing. The elves, even Bernard and Curtis, will lose their jobs, the North Pole will disappear and Christmas will be gone." Dad saw my face crumpling up with tears and he gave me a hug.

"I'll do my best to help you, Daddy," I sobbed. I grabbed a tissue and wiped my eyes. "I don't want you to stop being Santa Claus."

"Neither do I, Ella Bella and your mom said that she is also going to help out."

I nodded and sniffed. Then, I thought of something. "Wait, Dad. If you're here, then who is taking charge of the Pole?"

"You know Curtis and his big ideas? Well, he made a clone of me so the elves will know that he is me."

I shook my head. "Dad, of all the silliest things I've heard about what is going on at the Pole, that is one of the most silliest! I sure hope Curtis knows what he's doing."

"I hope so, too," Dad replied.

Then, we heard a knock at the door. It was Lucy. She wanted to see if we were ready to head over to the mall for ice cream. Dad told her that we were ready. We grabbed our coats and off we went. When we arrived at the mall, we walked over to Baskin Robbins. Lucy ordered a Chocolate Fudge cone, I ordered a bowl with one scoop of Pralines 'n Cream and one scoop of Chocolate Almond, and Dad ordered a Quarterback Crunch cone.

We sat at a booth and then Lucy and I talked to Dad about how school is going for us. I told Dad that Lucy and I have the day off from school tomorrow due to Staff Development Day, what Lucy is doing for her class, and I told him about how I'm doing with my classes and how Sarah is doing. That night after our ice cream treat, Lucy and I were in my room looking over the Christmas books we have in our rooms. Some of the Christmas books Lucy and I have in our room included _Merry Christmas, Strega Nona_ ; _Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas_ ; _The Legend of the Poinsetta_ ; _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ ; _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ ; _The Night Before Christmas_ ; and the American Girl Christmas stories. Lucy decided that she will bring _Kirsten's Surprise_ , _The Legend of the Poinsetta_ , and _One Minute Christmas Stories_.

After looking for the books Lucy needed, we thought I could help her with her math homework the next morning. I tucked her in and read her one of the Christmas stories we found. After Lucy was born, Mom, Neil, Charlie, and I started a tradition to read Christmas stories and we would end with _The Night Before Christmas._ Tonight was my turn and I read _Merry Christmas, Strega Nona._


End file.
